Prohibition: Sunday

This is just a quick post to plug a big show on Sunday 2nd August. It's 15 Minute Club at Prohibition, St. Katharine's docks again, but this time it's Laurence the co-host's birthday! The line-up has been hand selected and there are likely to be a few surprise songs and jams taking place. Come on down from about 7.30pm and be part of the fun.

I'm also playing at the Edinburgh Cellars tomorrow night (Thursday 30th July) and might see if I can sneak off to The Duchess in Battersea afterwards, where my friend Will is running his last open mic night there. It was one of the first ones I ever did, and it's still one of the best.

I'll be busy with gigs next week too: on Monday 3rd I'm going to do the RAW night at the Abbey Tavern in Kentish Town. Wednesday I'll be at the Powers Bar in Kilburn, and Thursday at the Nine Bar (near Tower Bridge again). Phew!

In other news I've been offered the chance to be tour manager for a band who will hopefully be supporting Status Quo through November and December. Sounds like an opportunity too good to miss!!

Hope you are all doing well, catch you later.

Daren
xxx

Down Under The Station

We all had a feeling it was going to be an interesting gig. Even getting into the place was a challenge. Perhaps you've been to London Bridge recently and seen a long queue of people seemingly waiting to get into some part of the station basement. Well I know what they are waiting for now, and it's called Shunt.

Shunt is hard to define, it's part work space, part theatre, part art installation, part night club. The atmosphere is damp and humid, like being in a cave or some sort of Victorian England slum experience. It's no coincidence that the London Dungeon share the same space in the dank arches under the station. I arrived at the entrance in Stainer Street and then was led through a reception, bar, theatre and huge video installation that takes up about 10 arches to the far side of this eclectic venue. We were performing in the Speakeasy, which is a little pub sized room with a small bar and a big PA. The chairs and tables didn't match anything - least of all each other, and the whole vibe was easy going. The artists were all nervous and excited, we had no idea what the audience reaction would be to the mixed line-up that our host - Frog Morris - on behalf of Utrophia had assembled.

In the end we had no worries at all (apart from the odd technical glitch). The audience came in and out, but often stayed and crowded around the door to catch what was happening. We didn't disappoint them.

Frog was first on as host: Dave the security guard, who has an interesting line in safety information and an unhealthy relationship with his dogs! The first section of the show was dedicated to art. Daniel Lehan, becoming an increasingly confident performer, amused and entertained with poems and stories about sex, Sting and an interactive poem about buses in London. Next up was another gob-smacking performance from Duncan Ward. It's very hard to give a full flavour of what Duncan does in mere words, but suffice to say it involved, bags of compost, a bottle of champagne, leaves and other foliage, a paper aeroplane and, well, a fair about of mess. As with the last time I saw him at the Montague Arms, the audience were hushed into mesmerised silence, and the doorway was crammed with people trying to get a view.

After the art, it was the turn of the comedians, and James W. Smith, with musings on philosophy and sex and Aaron Barshak, the self-styled Comedy Terrorist, helped us understand religion a little more completely. There was also an appearance by the renown medium - Mystic Huere.

Finally it was time for the music! I was up first and went for the more performance art end of my repertoire. It all seemed to go down pretty well, despite one small equipment glitch. The full set was:

The End Of The World Part I
The Prophet
Lightkeeper
The End Of The World Part II
After All
When The Snow Fell In Denver (extended version including a spoken verse from Obsession)
The Doctor Who Theme Tune (Oh yes!)
I Need Your Love

I was very pleased to get some great feedback after the set, and sold quite a few CDs.

Last, but not least, was Deference Engine who despite one or two problems with the backing track played a storming set. In the end all that was left to do was sing a rousing chorus or two of Angry Badger (pictured above, Deference Engine just off) and we were on our way out of the venue into the south London night.

It was such a great event and, although we are unlikely to ever get the chance to perform at Shunt again, you can see similar nights to this EVERY MONTH - on the 2nd Thursday at the Montague Arms in Peckham.

Or if you want to catch my songs sooner, then I'll be at Prohibition (a mere stone's throw from Shunt in the St. Katharine's docks near Tower Bridge) tonight!

Daren
xxx

Not Prohibited Anymore

It always amuses me when bars make some reference to abstinence or temperance. For example near Clapham Common there is actually a bar in an old Temperance Hall. Another example is one of my favourite venues to play - Prohibition Bar & Grill. I've been to two excellent Sunday nights there recently both courtesy of the wonderful people involved with 15 Minute Club.

Two Sundays ago I played an excellent night there with just two other acts including the lovely Liz Fyfe band, who were all very friendly people. Last Sunday I caught my mate - Acoustic Ashley (pictured above, he doesn't have a beard, that's a harmonica) doing some excellent looping there and also the talented and beautiful Linn Öberg. Both were really good nights with a good, appreciative crowd creating a fabulous vibe. I'm heading back there to play again this Sunday, so do come down if you want to be part of a fun and exciting night.

I also have to mention 15 Minute Club's night at the Living Room in Birmingham. I've played there twice now and both times the vibe was very friendly and relaxed. Looking forward to getting back there before too long.

Talking of returns, I'm also heading back to the Nine Bar on the 6th August. Coming up sooner I'll be at the trendy Shunt bar, down in the vaults at London Bridge. It's a night hosted by Frog Morris, who is also running his much talked about night at the Montague Arms - THIS THURSDAY. So do come down to any night you can make.

One other bit of news is that I'm finishing the Faith! mix of Lightkeeper today and tomorrow - it's sounding very good with real drums and bass now in place and I can't wait for you to hear it. Talking of which, I just found this video:

Live @ The Abbey Tavern

They got the captions slightly wrong, it is me and the song is definitely Lightkeeper.

Full list of upcoming gigs:

12th July 2009, 7.30pm onwards
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition, St. Katharine's Docks, Nr. Tower Bridge, London

18th July 2009
UTROPHIA @ SHUNT, 20 Stainer St. London, SE1 9RL (Photo ID required for entry)

30th July 2009, 8.30pm
Stripped Bare @ Edinburgh Cellars, 125 Newington Green Road, Islington, N1 4RA

2nd August 2009, 7.30pm onwards
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition, St. Katharine's Docks, Nr. Tower Bridge, London

5th August 2009, 8pm
Stripped Bare @ Powers Bar, 332 Kilburn High Road, Kilburn, NW6 2QN

6th August 2009, 8pm
Nine Bar, 146 Tanner Street, London, SE1 2HG

24th October 2009
Faith! charity album launch: limited tickets - BOOK NOW
The Westcoast, 3-5 King Street, Margate, United Kingdom


See you very soon,

Daren
xxx

Faith Album Launch

Work proceeds apace for the Faith charity album, and I am pleased to announce that the launch of the album will be on October 24th in Margate, Kent. The venue is called the West Coast and the night will feature acts like Charlie Savigar, Unfolds, Eddy Johns, Kayley Weller, Luke Jackson plus direct from USA: Billy Page. We will also have guest artists like Shaughnessy and, of course, myself playing on the night. I understand that tickets will be limited in number and will be on sale very soon. I will post more information here, but you can keep right up to date by checking out the album launch Facebook group.

Work on my new mix of Lightkeeper is progressing well, today I added and entirely new electric guitar part (Telecaster guitar pictured above). Now I just need a killer vocal and I should be there.

Don't forget that next Wednesday 1st July is my featured artist slot at the Loom Bar, 5 Clipstone Street, Great Portland Street, W1W 6BB. This will be a full electro-acoustic set with a new arrangement of After All featuring the loop pedal. It will be well worth coming down, doors open at 7pm, and there are seven hand-picked acts to watch. Get down early and enjoy the night!

Other gigs are as follows:

21st June 2009, open mic from 7.00pm onstage after 8.30pm
Stripped Bare @ The Phoenix, 37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G OPP

25th June 2009, open mic from 7.00pm onstage after 8.30pm
Stripped Bare @ Edinburgh Cellars, 125 Newington Green Road, Islington, N1 4RA

28th June 2009, doors 7.30pm
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, E1W 1AA

I'm also hoping to help out with some production and mixing for Fit & The Conniptions new album, so stay tuned for more news on that.

See you at a gig really soon!

Daren
xxx

Seeing The Light

Technology is an amazing thing. These days I have more recording equipment and processing power available to me than many studios had in the hey-day of rock'n'roll in the 50s and 60s. Even the Beatles only had access to 4-track tape recorders in the early 1960s. My hard disk recorder can record eight inputs at a time, and play back up to 16 tracks, all in digital. To further complicate things, it also allows up to 8 takes per track. On my Apple Mac I can record as many tracks as the specification of my computer will allow. Currently the track count for my re-recording of Lightkeeper stands at 48 different "takes" on the hard disk recorder and track count on for the mix now stands at 32! It's only since the 1970s that so many tracks could be played back at mix time (on analogue tape) and, frankly, it's kind of mind-boggling.

It's further complicated by the fact that I am song-writer, guitarist, singer, studio engineer, producer and client! It's hard to step back from it all and just listen to the song and hear what it needs. This is why I've not listened to it for a day now, and will try and clear my mind before working on the mixes later this week. In case you didn't realise I'm working on this track for a charity album which will be released later this year. The album will be called "Faith" and includes a number of artists that I've seen or played with live, including Luke Jackson, Eddy Johns and Kayley Weller. It's in aid of Cystic Fibrosis and will contain 16 tracks in total. If you want to follow progress then check out their website here:

http://www.allroundmusic.co.uk/

As mentioned my own contribution will be a new (and unique) mix of Lightkeeper, featuring Haydn Callow on drums, Paul Tkachenko on bass and, err, me on everything else. This recording will exist as two mixes, one shorter one for my use on demos and a longer "album" mix just for this record. So essentially if you want to hear that mix, you will have to buy the album. You can follow my own updates on the track here or on Twitter. I will also be working of a shorter version for my own purposes, and I'll let you know as soon as you can hear this version.

In other news, last Thursday was a cracking night down at the Montague Arms again. This month's highlights included a laughing bear, a horse comedian, a real human comedian, Aaron Barschak, pie roulette and the excellent Dead Victorians. The latter featuring a unicycling violinist and the maestro Paul Tkachenko (again) this time on accordion, saw and bells!

Quite frankly a full review would be impossible, but here are some video clips:

http://www.youtube.com/user/charlotteyoung

Next one is July 9th - be there for more of the same, only different.


In the meantime, I'm playing tonight at the Abbey Tavern in Kentish Town. Full list of gigs is as follows:

15th June 2009
RAW Rocks @ The Abbey Tavern, 124 Kentish Town Rd, London, NW1 9QB

21st June 2009, open mic from 7.00pm onstage after 8.30pm
Stripped Bare @ The Phoenix, 37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G OPP

25th June 2009, open mic from 7.00pm onstage after 8.30pm
Stripped Bare @ Edinburgh Cellars, 125 Newington Green Road, Islington, N1 4RA

28th June 2009, doors 7.30pm
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, E1W 1AA

1st July 2009
Stripped Bare Acoustic Productions presents:
Wood 'N' Strings @ LOOM featured act
Loom Bar, 5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB


See you soon,

Daren
xxx

P.S. The picture is Paul Tkachenko (AGAIN!!) this time playing Sousaphone for the Jazz Kings as part of the Croydon Jazz & Blues Festival. He's a busy boy!

Summertime (Almost)

The Sun has made an appearance in London, and we've all been enjoying it while we can. It may not last long! This is partly why I've not written an update recently, but it's also partly because I've been very busy musically with gigs and recording for the charity album "Faith" in full swing.

Here's a bit of a round-up of what's been happening.

Duchess Showcase

It really was one of the nicest days of the year so far when I turned up to play at the infamous Duchess Showcase run by the excellent host Will O'Durkan. The Duchess has a stunning view of the looming Battersea Power Station (see picture above) and it's particularly impressive from the balcony where we hung out before the gig. The music itself was of the high standard that the Showcase prides itself on. Reuben Hollebon kicked things off with his enigmatic and individual vocal style. Laine Hines then played his retro blues eschewing microphones and amplified guitar to reach the room directly.

In total contrast to Liane I took to the stage with my VoiceLive box and looper pedal ready to go. In the end I didn't really use them as a combination of the vibe of the night and some monitoring problems meant they weren't really suitable to the evening. In the end a quiet version of After All seemed to go down the best. Many thanks to Frog and Victoria in particular who came down to support, and offered generous (and very polite) applause when Lightkeeper was introduced! A first for me.

The evening continued until quite late with first Tom Moriarty making the crowd swoon, and then Smile At Strangers making us, well, smile. Favourite moments were Tom giving up on a new song, which sounded excellent, but I guess was just debuted a little early. And then Tom (again) playing bongos for Smile At Strangers, a very relaxed and enjoyable evening all round.

Nine Bar

The Nine Bar is a new venue for me and also for the effervescent and tireless host Carl Chamberlain. Carl is one of live performer's champions and he really knows how to put on a good night and keep the crowd happy. I must confess I don't remember all the acts that played as amongst the sizeable crowd where my friends Alex, Seb, Rosie and (new friend) Ed. Now these guys are serious music lovers too, and made a point of listening, applauding and, occasionally, going to the front of the crowd to hear an act they really liked. All in all it was another extremely pleasant evening. The acts were strong, I got another sing-along going to The Fool I Am (first number of the night for me!! Lead by Carl, of course) and received some nice comments.

Carl usually does an much more indepth review of his nights than I can do here, so do follow his link above and check out his Blog.

Drum Recording

Those who follow my Blog regularly will know that I have been invited to submit a track for a charity compilation called Faith. Rather than submit an old track I decided to re-record a favourite from scratch. This time I would invite top musicians to play rather than do it all in Garage Band. Last Friday I recorded the drums played by the excellent session and live player - Haydn Callow. Who, of course, also happens to be my younger brother.

As an aside here, it is worth mentioning that none of this would be possible without my brother's influence. It is almost entirely because of him that I am playing and writing songs and performing these days. From a very young age he knew that he wanted to be a drummer and started getting a kit together as soon as he could persuade our parents to stump up the cash. In an effort to join in with him I first got a small keyboard and then, when this turned out to be not loud enough, an electric guitar. The rest, as the cliche goes, is history.

So it was a great pleasure to have him play drums for me on this recording. We set up the kit at a secret location in Hertfordshire and two hours later we had 5 good takes on disk for me to work through and add to the evolving mix of the song. Haydn's Yamaha kit sounds phenomenal and it's very easy to record, his playing is also accurate and original. The song is really coming on now and, after his suggestion, has both live drums and drum machine on it (plus a tambourine played entirely out of time by me). It's a very exciting prospect and this version of the song will only be available on the record, which will be available around October I believe.

Next stop on this trip is to record the bass with talented multi-instrumentalist Paul Tkachenko, before that though I'm hoping to add electric guitar and vocals today and tomorrow.

By the way, Paul and one of his acts: The Dead Victorians are playing at the Montague Arms - this Thursday 11th June. It's 2nd Thursdays hosted by Frog Morris that night, which is always a fun evening. I'll be there to support the night, so why not come down from about 8.30pm and be a part of the night which also features Pie Roulette!

Well that's all for now, catch you later.

Daren
xxx

Singalong If You Know Where I'm Coming From

You know how sometimes things just come together? Well this week has been a bit like that. On Tuesday I was down at Bacchus in Hoxton Street to play a few tunes for the enigmatic Andreas von Graant's singer-songwriter night. Admittedly it was a very quiet night due, no doubt, to a swathe of post-bank holiday hangovers. Those who were there, however, had an excellent night. Opening up was Rachel Waite who's guitar pick-up had once been in the same room as the Beatles! I think their spirit was definitely infecting us all as she kicked things off with a wonderful set of original and cover songs. She was coaxed back for two encores (the second at then end involved borrowing my guitar, which was slung a bit low for her, but she coped admirably.

Next up was Lou who was great company all night and turned out to be a remarkably good player if somewhat nervous! Like me he can't play covers, but he demonstrated quite a range of playing in his set. He also produced a rendition of We Could Be Anything That We Wanted To Be from Bugsy Malone later on when we were well into the Guinness. He is certainly a dark horse.

Finally it was my turn and although I had brought my looper pedal I decided to leave it to one side and concentrate on unembelished songs instead. It seemed to work very well especially when the audience (such as they were) sang along to both The Fool I Am and I Need Your Love. My friend Peter summed up the gig thus (whilst very drunk on the black stuff) - She was great (pointing to Rachel), you were really good (pointing to Lou), BUT YOU ROCKED!! (pointing at me) Well I'm just glad someone approved, ha ha. Peter was last seen heading for a smoke with Lou... I hope you guys had a good evening.

I had to leave at a reasonable hour as I have to practice very hard for a gig this weekend. I am very happy to confirm that I will be playing the prestigious Duchess Showcase this Sunday 31st May. Full address below. This is a super venue and the Showcase is always a well attended night of excellent music. I'm thrilled to be playing there and am planning a great set. Please do come and join us from about 8pm if you can. For all the keen ones out there I'm also heading there tonight (Thursday 28th May) for the open mic night, from about 8.30pm.

Otherwise see you at another gig soon, next Thursday's gig at the Nine Bar is another excellent choice. Come along and sing along!!

All the best,

Daren
xxx

31st May 2009, doors open 8pm
Showcase @ The Duchess, 101 Battersea Park Rd, Battersea, SW8 4DS

4th June 2009, music from 7.30pm
The Nine Bar, 146 Tanner Street, London, SE1 2HG

15th June 2009
RAW Rocks @ The Abbey Tavern, 124 Kentish Town Rd, London, NW1 9QB

21st June 2009, open mic from 7.00pm onstage after 9pm
Stripped Bare @ The Phoenix, 37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G OPP

28th June 2009, doors 7.30pm
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, E1W 1AA

1st July 2009
Stripped Bare Acoustic Productions presents:
Wood 'N' Strings @ LOOM featured act
Loom Bar, 5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB

Influences... Morrissey

Morrissey has just turned 50 so it seems appropriate to say a few words, and what better person to kick off an occasional series on musical influences. I should say straight away that I wasn't a big fan of The Smiths, although I do own Big Mouth Strikes Again on 12" I prefer the live Morrissey version... "as her iPod started to melt". Somehow The Smiths were just too depressing in a pretty poor time for rock music in the UK.

Morrissey's solo music started in the same vein and then became more playful (if still willfully at odds with everything). I think the key difference though is the rest of his band, Boz Boorer and, particularly, Alain Whyte are big heros of mine and do, in fact, write most of the tunes on Morrissey's records. Ringleader of the Tormentors and You Are The Quarry are my favourite albums, but his band is also great live so check out the excellent Live At Earl's Court which sees them all at their peak (before Alain Whyte left the band) and includes some rare Morrissey tracks and some of the best Smiths songs too. This last record also includes one track that was never on an album but sums up the best of Morrissey's music for me, if you want one track to check out then listen to Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice - cracking tune, amusing yet caustic lyrics... perfect rock.

Of course I realise that Morrissey is much like that other British tradition that begins with M - Marmite. People tend to either love him or hate him - which is the sign of a truly radical artist, I could never court controversy the way he does, but I do try to be more creative than average in my lyrics. Whichever, it's good to see some real longevity in the UK music scene, so happy birthday you old bugger - I hope you have plenty more!

Some miscellaneous memories relating to Morrissey and (ahem) booze:

1) Drinking my friend Adrian's ENTIRE collection of red wine, whilst alternately playing and arguing for early or late period Morrissey songs as being the best. We agreed, drunkenly, to disagree.

2) Missing Morrissey's appearance at a Paris festival because Peachy and I didn't make it out of the hotel bar. What can I say, I enjoy getting drunk with friends... we did make it to see Radiohead the next day, and they were utterly fantastic.

To hear the Morrissey influence, check out my song: The Fool I Am


In other news, the recording for the charity record is full steam ahead. I'm very pleased that the peerless Haydn Callow and frighteningly brilliant Paul Tkachenko have agreed to play respectively drums and bass for me. I'm very, very excited about this. Now perhaps if I can just get Tony Visconti to produce it... hmmm. Much more news on this to follow.

The recording is leading to a slight lull in gigs, but I will be back stronger than ever with some new arrangements (although no new songs just yet) on the 4th June at the Nine Bar near Tower Bridge.

Full gig list:

4th June 2009, music from 7.30pm
The Nine Bar, 146 Tanner Street, London, SE1 2HG

15th June 2009
RAW Rocks @ The Abbey Tavern, 124 Kentish Town Rd, London, NW1 9QB

21st June 2009, open mic from 7.00pm onstage after 9pm
Stripped Bare @ The Phoenix, 37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G OPP

28th June 2009, doors 7.30pm
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, E1W 1AA

1st July 2009
Stripped Bare Acoustic Productions presents:
Wood 'N' Strings @ LOOM featured act
Loom Bar, 5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB

Best wishes to you all,

Daren
xxx

P.S. Shamefully I have never seen Morrissey live, so the picture above is me and Peachy missing Morrissey in Paris, August 2006.

Early Warning

As hinted at on Facebook (be-friend me here or become a fan of my music here) I was losing the will a bit. I'd had two good, but emotionally draining, gigs in London and had got home a 1am for the third night in a row. Then just as I was questioning myself some good things came along and it's time to share these with you.

Firstly I've got two good gigs coming up and I wanted to give you plenty of advance warning, if you can get into London on one of these dates, then please come and watch and listen. Firstly on the 4th June I'm playing as a headline act at the Nine Bar in SE1 (146 Tanner Street, London, SE1 2HG) close to Tower Bridge. There are four headline acts and five "surprise" slots, so it's going to be a super night of music. Get down for about 8pm.

Secondly I'm playing at the prestigious Loom Bar (5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB) as a special guest on the 1st July (plenty of warning on this one!!). Doors open at 7pm and the show kicks off at 7.45. I'll be using all the gadgets (Voicelive box and looper) for this great show and there will be some surprises even if you've seen me recently. If you make it to one gig of mine over the Summer, then make it this one.

Thirdly there is a possibility that a new recording of mine will be on a charity compilation record (in aid of Cystic Fibrosis). Nothing definite yet, but I'll bring you more news as soon as I have it.

I'm also playing really good gigs at Prohibition and The Phoenix in central London, here are all the up-and-coming dates, put them in your diary now.

4th June 2009, music from 7.30pm
The Nine Bar, 146 Tanner Street, London, SE1 2HG

21st June 2009, open mic from 7.00pm onstage after 9pm
Stripped Bare @ The Phoenix, 37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G OPP

28th June 2009, doors 7.30pm
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, E1W 1AA

1st July 2009
Stripped Bare Acoustic Productions presents:
Wood 'N' Strings @ LOOM featured act
Loom Bar, 5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB

See you at a gig very soon.

Daren
xxx

P.S. The picture is from Ultravox live at Hammersmith back in April - I was literally in row Z, but I still enjoyed it very much.

Somewhere

It's been another busy week, but very enjoyable and it has brought some great experiences. Last week on Monday I travelled up to Birmingham to play the 15 Minute Club @ The Living Room. It was one of those evenings where everybody was on top form, all the acts played well and the sound and atmosphere was great. I used the loop pedal for my set and was very pleased with the reaction. It was also great to see Johnny Ryder again, that lad has talent.

On Tuesday I was in Portsmouth, playing the Shrek Rap (by Casdok) again for the Portsmouth Autism Support Network. It was a very enjoyable evening and it was great the DJ Kirkby and Chris King were there to talk about DJ's book. It was interesting to increase my knowledge of the real world aspects of living with Autism and there is talk of another performance of the 'Rap soon.

Thursday I was playing at the Edinburgh Cellars and again it was an excellent night. I met the splendid Peter Paul Parker, and also a lady who sang about her sex doll (amongst other things).

Sunday night and I was back at Prohibition near Tower Bridge and actually witnessed the bridge opening to let a tall masted boat pass by on my way there. The show was, again, of a really high standard and Rae really gets the evening going with her compering. The highlight for me was jamming at the end with all the acts, but especially Tres Womack, who was over from Texas, USA to promote an Americana CD that he's on. He very kindly swapped his CD for mine and I have been enjoying playing it ever since. The track "Gather Round" which he wrote with his brother (I believe) is my favourite cut.

I have a small treat for you which I shot on my mobile phone on the way back home from Prohibition, but before that just time to plug my next gig:

13th May 2009, doors 7.30pm onstage after 9.00pm
Stripped Bare @ The Powers Bar, 332 Kilburn High Road, Kilburn, NW6 2QN

Hope to see you there, for a full electro-acoustic set, loops, voices and new versions of songs for your delight.

Meantime, enjoy this rough and ready video shot on my phone on Sunday night.



Daren
xx

London, Midlands, South

I'm off on a little mini-adventure starting tonight, when I venture to The Phoenix in the heart of London. This will be a full showcase gig with all the bells and whistles (well vocal effects and loops anyway) - my friend Acoustic Ashley is playing too.

3rd May 2009, open mic from 7.30pm, featured acts from 8.30pm
Stripped Bare @ The Phoenix, 37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G OPP

Then tomorrow night I'm heading to the midlands to play a gig at the brand new 15 Minute Club venue in Birmingham. Do I have any fans in Birmingham? We'll find out tomorrow.

4th May 2009, music from 8pm
15 Minute Club @ The Living Room Birmingham, Unit 4 Regency Wharf 2, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2DS

Then on Tuesday there will be a return for the Shrek Rap (by Casdok) at a private autism support network event in Portsmouth. It's been fun to get practicing that again, and it's super that it's getting another hearing.

Will let you know how it goes on Wednesday when I've recovered!!

See you at at gig soon,

Daren
xxx

Mementos

I'm back from LA and just about in one piece. Well apart from a severely bruised finger (I shut it in an industrial elevator door, yeah it did hurt). The last two weeks have been saturated with a host of experiences and emotions, way too much to document in detail, so here are a few snapshots (in no particular order, just as they come to me).

Waking up wedged into a airline seat, surprised to find that I've actually managed to sleep. Foolishly I start to watch another movie. Anyone know what happens at the end of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas? I can't help feeling it can only be bad. Just before we land I can swear that I hear the pilot say, "We hope to see you on another virgin soon".

Sitting on Zuma beach in Malibu, watching the sunset with Alex. I'm eating a picnic off a china plate with a knife and fork. Very civilised.

Walking downtown in LA in searing heat (they had a Spring heatwave just for me, it seems). It's a mixed area of very run down shops and beautiful old theatres. I walk for about 2 hours and am astonished to not see one MacDonalds.

Standing in a huge empty loft in the Toy District of downtown LA. Our voices echo around the walls. The view of the commercial district is stunning.

Trying not to laugh when a slightly camp real estate agent tells us that the apartment block we are viewing has a "breezeway".

More walking, this time on Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard. Checking out the handprints and the walk of fame. Is this the true mark of having made it? Curiously it kinda is just how I always imagined it would be, although I am slightly disappointed I didn't see C3-PO's footprints. There is a man dress up as Homer Simpson, apparently this is how he makes his living.

Watching the homeless people make camp for the night in the road next to our loft (whilst trying to avoid looking at the stuffed snake and mongoose diorama). There is a mission and a Police station just around the corner. It seems that they are allowed to sleep on the streets from 9pm to 6am. Prior to Hurricane Katrina the city aggressively moved them on, so I am looking at social progress (of a sort). It turns out we are actually living on Skid Row!

Champagne by the pool in the Standard Hotel on Sunset.

Wandering the lot at Rent-A-Wreck. They've told me that they rent cars to the movie industry. There is a green convertible Jaguar just like the one in Memento. I don't ask if it is the same one, I don't want to be disappointed. In my mind it is.

Getting lost in the LAX airport complex on the way to the car park. Twice.

Looking down in the blazing heat on the whole of LA from the observatory in Hollywood Hills. Wondering what would happen if there was an earthquake right now. Trying to take a picture of us with the Hollywood sign in the background. Failing comically... most especially when the passerby who volunteers to take the picture for us manages to get it right behind our heads.

Brunch (Dutch Babies and Mimosas) with a number of young defense attorneys in the suburbs of LA followed by table football (my team loses 1-2, but it's pretty close). Their descriptions of gangs and crime in the area makes Thornton Heath seem very safe.



Dxxx

La La LA

More travels beckon as this week I'm off to LA and then it looks like I'm going back on the road as a roadie, but more news on that later.

First a round up of the last few gigs (mine for a change) which have all gone really well: last Wednesday I was in Guildford at a great bar called Fahrenheit 55 that has a great viewing area upstairs and I made full use of all my TC Helicon VoiceLive box and looper pedal during the set.

On Thursday I was up in Islington at the Edinburgh Cellars. Daniel, who promotes the Stripped Bare nights, had been let down by a couple of artists, and then on the night another had to pull out due to a death in the family! In the end there was just myself, Andy Page and my good friend CT, but we played our hearts out for the whole evening. I did two half hour sets and made use of the looper pedal again (despite a slightly dodgy PA) to entertain an increasingly enthusiastic crowd. The feedback from the evening was all really positive and I'm looking forward to getting back there soon. When I left Andy was still singing away with most of the audience joining in with his set of well performed covers!

Easter Sunday night brought me back to St. Albans were I first started out on the acoustic open mic scene. The Horn pub has just won an award as the Best Music Pub in the UK and it was fantastic to be able to use all my effects pedals with their excellent sounding PA and powerful monitors (the bits that let the artist onstage hear themselves... very important when you are building loops). The Sunday night crowd is very knowledgeable as most of them are veteran performers themselves, so it was particularly pleasing to have a good number of them come over to let me know they had enjoyed the set. Can't wait to get back there either!

Fancy hearing what everybody is talking about? Well you can tomorrow night, when I'm doing the full looping/VoiceLive show at the Powers Bar in Kilburn (332 Kilburn High Road, Kilburn, NW6 2QN), I'll be on around 8.30pm. Alternatively you can check out my videos on YouTube:

Daren's YouTube Channel

There are new videos from an exclusive Whitechapel gig going up this week and next week.

You might also be interested to know that a written piece of mine has recently been published in A3 magazine. This is available free from many London galleries, plus I have a few copies that I can post to you if you'd like one. Leave me a comment if you are interested.

Right, better get rehearsing for tomorrow!

Daren
xxx

P.S. Heading to see Fit & the Conniptions at the Abbey in Kentish Town tonight, do come along if you fancy it.

Travelling

I'm off on my travels again, tonight the one man electro-acoustic cabaret hits Guildford. Now technically this is a local gig as Guildford is in my county of Surrey, but it's still a fair old trek. I have to say I'm really looking forward to it, the set is really strong now, and it's a great sign when I can't actually fit all the songs I really want to play into my 25 minute set. My use of the looper and voicebox is improving with practice all the time. For the most part I can now hit the buttons I need without looking down, this is a bit improvement as it really lets me concentrate on performing the song and not on the technology. It's always supposed to be complimentary to the song and not take it over.

If you want to come along to Guildford tonight, here are the details:

Strangers On A Train @ Fahrenheit 55
3 Milkhouse Gate, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3EZ

My good friend and excellent multi-instrumentalist, Wayne Myers (Fit & The Conniptions) came to a recent electro-acoustic gig and wrote some nice things. Thanks again Wayne, hope your throat gets better soon.

For those of you unable to get to UK gigs there is some good news. I'm halfway through downloading video from my recent White Hart gig. This involves two video camera views so the editing will take a little longer than usual, but I would expect to have 4 or 5 new videos up some time next week. You'll hear about it here, but you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want the earliest possible chance to see them:

Daren's YouTube Page

Don't forget to give a star rating to any videos you like.

The rest of my gigs this week are as follows:

9th April 2009 - 8.00pm
Stripped Bare @ The Edinburgh Cellars, 125 Newington Green Road, Islington, N1 4RA

12th April 2009 - from 8.00pm onstage after 9.00pm
Blue Angel Acoustic Cafe @ The Horn, Victoria Street, St. Albans, AL1 3TE

15th April 2009 - open mic from 7.30
Stripped Bare @ The Powers Bar, 332 Kilburn High Road, Kilburn, NW6 2QN

Last night I ventured to the Hen & Chickens Theatre in Highbury (nearest tube Highbury & Islington) and saw The Brazner performing "Ay Me!". I'd seen Charlotte and Tom do some of these sketches before, but they were all excellently performed and really suit the small theatre setting. They certainly made me (and the whole audience) laugh out loud at several points and the horse comedian they brought in for the night was a real bray! Their show runs all week and is well worth a trip:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=57095362121&ref=nf

Finally I just wanted to make mention of the excellent new album by Hadar Manor - "Crossing London". This is a self-produced effort with help from many very talented friends (Wayne Myers, Tom Fry, Daniel Spiller, Geoff Southall, Gemma Fuller and Hezron Chetty to name check but a few) and can be bought for just a tenner (plus postage) here:

http://www.myspace.com/hadarmanor

The songs are all very good and recorded simply and with obvious enjoyment and a wicked sense of humour - drawing on her experience of busking and travelling across London. Some of the little bits of audio between tracks and the group singing on many tracks really shows this. It has to be said that all the tracks are tinged with a little sadness, so it never gets too sweet. In fact, having said that, some of the songs are downright heart-wrenching, but, hey, if you like a little pain with your pleasure (as I do) then this this is for you. A whole range of styles and sounds are presented here and I cannot recommend highly enough also seeing her live. Either with or without her talented band she is a mesmorising, beautiful, emotional and highly skilled performer.

Okay, that's all for now. See you on-line, see you at a gig - either way - see you soon!

Daren
xxx

Where Am I?

Jet lag is real - I know, I'm feeling it right now. Monday night I flew the red eye back from Newark, NY and, despite having a full row of four seats to myself, got no sleep whatsoever. I did try, but a crying baby and proximity to the loo made it impossible. Still it was a novelty to be entirely horizontal on a jet plane - now I know how the first class passengers feel (they have some very natty bed/chair type thingies these days).

New York was good fun. It was fantastic to see Alex again, and I enjoyed staying in Brooklyn and traveling around different parts of the city on the subway. I really like New York, it's probably my third favourite city in the world (after London and Paris) and particular highlights this time were walking in Brooklyn Heights (great view of Manhattan), viewing art in Chelsea (Deitch Projects is always interesting), eating in 'the only diner in LIC' (that's Long Island City of course) and catching a funky Brazilian influenced jazz band in the West Village. I have to confess that I didn't make it to any open mic nights (boo!) - preferring instead to have a break from playing - which has really energised me for more gigs here.

After arriving home on Tuesday morning I got a text from my friend Wayne reminding me that it was Hadar Manor's album launch at the 12 Bar Club that night! Well I um'd and ah'd for about half an hour before deciding that I might as well fight the fatigue and go anyway. I have to say I am very glad I did. The 12 Bar Club is a very strange venue which used to be an old forge or something, and it's very hard to see some of the acts due to the close proximity of stage and balcony. All the same it was a very special night. The warm-up acts included a bagpipe player, a harpist, and several singer-songwriters who were all excellent. Hadar sat in with most of them, and I began to wonder how her set could match up - but I needn't have worried. When she finally took to the stage with her band (a little later than advertised) they produced one of the finest live performances I think I have ever seen. With the peerless Wayne Myers on guitar and Tom Fry on bass (sorry, don't know the drummer's name, but he was excellent too - AND he had a nice hat) they were joined by a succession of other musicians. Violin, trumpet, vocals, percussion, harp, keyboards and guitar accompanied a wonderful set that covered all the emotions and was constantly entertaining.

Here are the other artists who I saw that night: Vashti Anna, Sean Taylor, Bare Hat, Judith Haustein, Wayne Myers, Diego Lavardes, Daniel Spiller & The Broken Record Project, Gemma Fuller, Tom Fry, Geoff Southall, Spencer Pierce, The Entertainment, Beth Rowley...



(Pictured are Hadar Manor, Wayne Myers on guitar, drummer in nice hat and you can just about see Tom Fry on right of the shot)

Tiredness overtook me rapidly after Hadar finished so I headed home in a drowsy (but happy) haze.

I finally fell asleep at about midnight...

...and woke up at 3pm the next afternoon!!

Somehow, despite all this sleep/music induced euphoria, I managed to practice for tonight's gig at the White Hart in Whitechapel. It's easy to get to, just take a tube to Whitechapel station, turn left as you exit and walk up to Mile End Road... the venue is upstairs. There is music tonight from 7.30pm (open mic, including my mate Ashley Cowen) and then featured acts from 9.00pm - I'm due onstage at 9.30pm and will be off half an hour later so don't be late!!

I can promise some looped delights, weird vocals and carefully crafted songs both old and new... and that's just me!

See you there.

Daren
xxx

Playing Without Electricity

I have to say I really enjoy playing genuine "unplugged" gigs. I'm sure that some performers hearts sink when they see that there is no amplifier or microphone to use, but actually I find it very exciting. There is a rawness and emotional connection that you get when the music from your guitar and mouth are reaching the people sitting before you directly. It has the added advantage of meaning that the audience has to remain quiet in order to hear the songs and this allows you to use playing dynamics and your vocal range freely.

I have just done such a gig at The Jago in Shoreditch. It was an electric (!) night of spoken word, poetry and music in an intimate and enjoyable setting. I particularly enjoyed the work of John Zammit, Andreas, the singing bouncer (who came in, sung one number beautifully and then left to go back to work!), Failed Hearts (part blues, part punk - nice harp playing), Trinity (the DJ, who played real vinyl and some of my favourite tunes - Supertramp anyone?) and the co-hosts David Amery and Jazzman John Clarke. I sold a good number of CDs, including one to a lady who wanted me to sing her a cover song before parting with her cash. In the end I managed a pretty reasonable version of California Dreamin' and the deal was done. I played 6 songs in total and the night comes highly recommended: it's the first Saturday of every month (so also a rare weekend gig) and I'm back there to play again on the 4th April.

I've got some really exciting gigs coming up, in north, south, east and west London, Guildford, St. Albans and (possibly) New York. Plus, this coming Saturday is the excellent Fiestival in Chatham, Kent. Expect lots of mexican themed songs and performances and lots of latin-American themed fun. I'm also back at the Montague Arms this Thursday (12th March) - this time performing a one-off interpretation of one of Daniel Lehan's art pieces. This really is a one-off, if you are not there, you will not experience it! In fact there are so many gigs that I can't really do them justice here, and I don't always have the time to promote every gig properly, so PLEASE go to my gigs page on my website and scan the list, find one near you and COME ON DOWN!

http://www.darencallow.co.uk/gigs.html

If you haven't yet taken advantage of the free downloads from the site, then I would swing by there too and grab anything you like. I'm about to record some new songs and review what is available for free, and what I will be charging for: so get in there now!!

Have a great week.

Daren
xxx

P.S. The photograph is from the excellent Powers venue in Kilburn, I'm back there for a featured set on the 15th April. Perhaps the Angry Badger has been down that way.

A Song About Pain

There is a lot of pain around in life: the pain of loss, of separation, of illness. But can there be times when pain is a good thing? It warns us of problems, reminds us we are alive and some people enjoy the way it can mingle deliciously with pleasure. Some people mistake pain for love. Chastisement for devotion. All I know is that it is necessary, sometimes healthy and mildy addictive.

Am I a pain junky?

No idea, but here is a song wot I wrote about it.

A Song About Pain
==================

Another lover packs their boxes
And moves away from the lies
But there are no lies in the tears in my eyes
as I ask myself if I am to blame

'Cos it's not like I know any better
And it's not like I'll ever change
I just keep on making the same mistakes,
So maybe I just like the pain
Maybe I just want the pain.

So there I am just lying
Alone on my bedroom floor
Another vodka or wine will hurt me just fine
But you know that I still want more

'Cos it's not like I know any better
And it's not like I'll ever change
I just keep on making the same mistakes,
So maybe I just like the pain,
Maybe I just want the pain!

You give me pleasure and you give me pain,
Over and over and over again.
I need the torture and I need the fear,
'Cos it's not torture if I volunteer

'Cos it's not like I know any better
And it's not like I'll ever change
I just keep on making the same mistakes,
So maybe I just like the pain
Maybe I just want the pain.

'Cos it's not like I know any better
And it's not like I have any shame
I just keep on making the same mistakes,
So maybe I just like the pain
maybe I just want the pain
maybe I just love the pain

(D. Callow 2009)

Oh, and you can hear how it sounds right here:

A Song About Pain - MP3

It's dedicated to all my friends in Blog world and real life, who like to invite a little pain into their lives from time to time - you know who you are.

Daren
xxx

P.S. I love the picture on this post taken by the excellent Kris Gruber. I will send a signed CD of this song and a few others to whoever can get closest to guessing where it was taken. Nearest guess (as measured on Google Earth) wins.

Music Around London

Busy, busy week. So here's a quick round up.

Tuesday

Open mic night at The Eagle near Old Street. Nice to be playing in a different place and to a fairly big crowd. Also good to see my friend Anne-Marie Sanderson on great form.

Wednesday

Back to the River Bar on a very, very busy night. Played my two tunes, met some nice people and hung around to see the rest of the night.

Thursday

This one deserves more than just a single line... I was very excited to play for Jazzman John up at the Fused Lounge Bar in Lewisham. This was partly because it's an easy bus ride for me to get there, but also because it promised to be a great night and I wasn't disappointed. First up was a fantastic trombone three-piece, who really entertained us and finished with a cover of the Star Trek theme! I was next up, and despite a really dodgy mic played through four of my songs. The evening went from strength to strength as performer after performer produced some really memorable moments. Sometimes Jasmine improvised with an electric cello, loops and effects, and Dan Razer played some great guitar and very evocative songs. The evening ended with Jazzman John himself rapping over improvised guitar, cello and saxophone (pictured above). It was and excellent night, and I do recommend it highly.

Saturday

Oh yeah, that's today... I have finally recorded my new song called A Song About Pain - I will Blog on this properly tomorrow and give you a chance to hear it.

Next gig is on Monday when I head to the Abbey Tavern in Kentish Town for the RAW open mic night.

Daren
xx

Meetings And Partings

Life is made up of meetings and partings (name the film). And always more partings.

Last night saw the final performance of 15 Minute Club at the Living Room in Islington. The reason for this is Islington Council changing their rules on music licensing due to an incident on a packed Saturday night disco. The venue now has to have TWO paid doormen on any music night, even the sleepy Sundays that the 15 Minute Club acoustic acts put on. The economics don't add up, so the (unpaid) musicians have to move on. Ours was a quiet, family friendly night where acts of any age got their 15 minutes and then relaxed and watched the other acts perform, and it is no more. So much for the support of original music in the UK. One person and a lot of bureaucracy have closed an exciting and fresh venue.

I actually feel sadder about it today than I did last night, because it was a surreal night for another reason which I'll come to. All the acts performed to their best for the Sunday night eaters and drinkers. My set featured a new song (more on that very soon) and an new piece of percussion (any guesses?). I really enjoyed all the acts Denai Moore, Harley Moon Kemp, Amy Wyke and two other chaps who's name I didn't manage to retain (sorry guys) - if they get in touch I'll rectify that. The jam at the end was great fun too as I improvised 15 Minute Club related lyrics to Get Back!

The weirdest part of the night came just after I had met Harley. A guy walks into the bar who is the spitting image of one of two brothers that used to be in a very successful 80s band that I grew up listening to. After a little bit of covert glancing on my behalf he came over and sat next to me. He asked if I was one of the other performers and I became increasingly convinced that he was one of the two men in question, or just an amazing dead ringer. I quickly formulated a plan to find out: if I introduced myself to him then he would give me his name and I would know. So I did and I could have sworn that he said his name was Neil! That's my rubbish hearing for you, he did though say he was Harley's dad (and her mum introduced herself too) and when she was introduced as Harley Moon Kemp my heart gave a little start. I had, as you all probably guessed already, just shook the hand of Martin Kemp the bass player with Spandau Ballet and, it should be noted, Shirlie Holliman - one half of Pepsi & Shirlie. I missed out on the chance to perform my songs for him, as they left with Harlery and her friends shortly after she finished playing, but I have to say he seemed like a thoroughly nice man. I suspect he probably thought I did recognise him, but I'm glad that in my naive way I just introduced myself as if he was any guy. Which in way, of course, we all are.

Meetings and partings indeed.


In other news, I'm playing twice this week. On Tuesday I'm going to try my hand at the open mic night at The Eagle, and then on Thursday I'm a featured act at the Fused Bar in Lewisham. I've also booked a featured artist slot at the White Hart in Whitechapel on March 26th - this will be a full electro-acoustic gig and I promise will be a must see (and hear, obviously).

Don't forget that the Shrek Rap CD is still available and all proceeds go to Autism related charities.

Have a good week!

Daren
xx

15 Minute Club @ The Living Room

I'm off to Islington tonight to play at the last 15 Minute Club gig at the Living Room. It's the last 15 Minute Club at the Living Room so it's sure to be an emotional night! If you would like to follow my preparations then tune in via Twitter:

http://twitter.com/Daren68

Planning to play my new song again (I did play it at Prohibition last week, but it's moved on since then) and stay tuned to this Blog for a chance to help name the song again. I also have a new piece of percussion that I'm going to use for the first time tonight. Really looking forward to it, so do come down and support:

22nd February 2009, 7.30pm
15 Minute Club @ The Living Room, Islington, N1 8LN

In other news, I've also got a great gig booked up at the White Hart, 1 Mile End Road, Whitechapel - if you've never seen my full electro-acoustic gig (looper pedal, VoiceLive box, percussion etc...) this is the one to come to. I promise to put on the best show I can. The date is 26th March - keep it free!

More on tonight's gig later.

Daren
xxx