I Am The Light-Keeper

You write an email and you get an email back. Someone's dream, thoughts, lyrics, ideas, images. It rings a bell and strikes a chord. So you keep it tucked away. Then you dig it out and re-shape it into a verse, chorus idea. But nothing more, no tune, no notes, no melody.

Time passes...

Capo, third fret, Em shape... slow change to A, then quicker G to A... repeat G to A... hmmm.

I think I have a lyric that might work with this... yup, it does, so you have the seeds of a new song and something a bit different:


I hope that you got home okay,
I had a coffee in Stockholm,
There are riots in Estonia,
Somewhere we are still at war.

I have a fantasy to share with you,
But it’s cold and it’s wet
And I’m in a truck counting boxes
But I can still read your text

I had a dream,
I was the light-keeper
The keeper of the light
I was the light-keeper

I had a dream that you were there,
All the people had no faces,
You were blinded by the light,
And could only feel.

You found me by my energy
The days are long without you
Funny how, when you find it
You can’t live without it.

I had a dream,
I was the light-keeper
The keeper of the light
I was the light-keeper

I hope that you got home okay,
I had a coffee in Stockholm,
There are riots in Estonia,
We are still at war.

(Callow/Staiger)



Thank you, thank you, thank you Alex! Your words and ideas are giving my music and my life something special I never expected.

Dxxx
(in Madrid, Spain)

We All Live In A Big Yellow...

Another hectic few days. Late flight to Sweden (Gothenburg) on Friday night, then out of the airport, turn left... big yellow bus, you can't miss it! Overnight drive to Hultsfred, arrive early on Saturday morning. Pull myself out of big yellow bus at about 9.30 am... load in for the Hultsfred Doom Metal and Euro Pop festival!!

Count my boxes out, talk to 'the man' and arrange to count in the swag. All done by Midday... nothing to do until 2am on Sunday morning! So wander to catering, wander around site. Lunchtime, don't have a meal ticket but it doesn't matter. We are in the performer's catering. The choice is beefburger, cheeseburger, veggie burger, meat skewers, chicken skewers or Swedish plate. Hmmm. I opt for the cheeseburger, it arrives un-cooked with cold chips and no visible cheese. Ah well, fills a hole and all that. Wander around a bit more. Take a nap.

Dinner time. Same menu as lunch, I opt for the chicken skewers, which are mostly skewer and not much chicken. At least the 4 chips I have this time are hot. They run out of chocolate muffins just as I go to get mine. Ginger cake instead, it's okay.

Manic Street Preachers are playing, so I go and check them out. They are pretty good actually and I've always wanted to see them. Nina from The Cardigans joins them for one song. The new stuff sounds good. Head back to bus for another nap.

Rudely awoken by the act before us. The venue is on an old sea bed (apparantly) and the whole bus rocks when people start jumping up and down. It's 11pm. Our turn is on at 1am!? I help out on stage, cable-tying the video screen. Taping arrows on the floor. Tidying things.

Finally it's 1am and the band go on, it's pouring with rain now. I help out with the head-trucks in You Where Always On My Mind and then go and do my real job. Count the t-shirts, take the money. Get a lift back to the truck to avoid getting soaked. Help finish loading the truck. All done by 3am as the sun is coming up. Back in the big yellow bus. Overnight drive to Gothenburg airport. Shower at 11am. Check in at 12.30pm. Eat, check email, doze. Flight leaves at 6pm local time, and arrives at Heathrow at the same time.

Heathrow Express, tube, train, walk, home. Wot no big yellow bus?!


P.S. Just before I left something arrived by post that I've been waiting for for about 27 years or so... any ideas?

One Gig Too Far

Armani, Armani,
Underpants, Underpants,
Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam.

Buses, Cars,
Oooh mind your carbon footprint.

What's going on now?!

Don't ask!

Dxxx
(Back in the UK, for a bit)

No Chance of a T-Shirt Fire

Swindon, UK. I'm selling T-Shirts in a leisure complex, there are boys and girls with shorts and singlets on everywhere. To get to catering you go past the Squash courts. There are the sounds of dance classes emerging from behind doors. There are forms and posters everywhere... your safety is our concern!

I'm selling from the reception area for the swimming pool. One of the managers askes me if I want a fire extinguisher. Is there a danger of a T-Shirt fire? Perhaps I'll just throw them in the pool... or run. People keep coming up and asking if the pool is open, or where the changing rooms are.

A lady trips up going to the loo, there are staff everywhere... first aid, management, there's a form to fill in. In the office they have charts to show all the accidents that have occurred. No T-Shirt related incidents to report, phew!

Off to Ireland today and a very easy gig merchandising-wise. It's just up the road from the Sound Mixer's house, so we're off for a barbeque. Then it's back to the UK for a week or so, and time to re-adjust to real-life 1.0

The Home Gig

Good to see you all at Hammersmith last night. Hope you all got home okay, let me know what you made of it, gold cowboys and all.

Dxx

Tempting

In our bus there is a big red button. This big red button is temptingly labelled in true Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fashion DO NOT TOUCH! Surely the only reason for big red buttons to exist is to be pressed.

Today I am by the sea in Skive, Denmark at a festival. In true seaside fashion I will be selling my t-shirts from what appears to be a big red beach hut. Complete with sand on the floor. Back in the UK tomorrow and looking forward to seeing friends on Wednesday.

Dxxx