Hit The Road...

So here is the news...

This Blog is going back to it's roots. By which I mean that I'm going back out on the road again to be a roadie and sell some t-shirts. Those that know me well will remember that I started this Blog as a way to stay in touch with friends and chronicle my exploits whilst touring with the Pet Shop Boys. Well here we go again, only this time it's with Katie Melua!

It looks like there are some new places and some old place on the route. A whole bunch of new crew members and merchandisers to meet along the way, and hopefully some songs to discover too. The downside is that all my gigs in October and November need to be rescheduled, but I'm sure the experience will make me even keener to play and record into the new year. Wish me luck!

As if that weren't enough, stay tuned too for details of my birthday exploits in December... it's one of those ones that ends in a zero... so you know what that means... PARTEY!

Daren
xxx

Moving On

Hi all. It's typical isn't it, just when I get awarded my first Blogging award (thanks Trixie!!) - I turn into the world's worst Blogger. Time for a quick round-up I think:

Lesstival - Where less is quite firmly and certainly, less. This whole festival was just slightly more disappointing than I expected. The Red Arrows display was certainly the low point, for one thing the cut-out arrows were definitely a shade of pink. Although as co-organiser Stuart Whitehead pointed out: "They're less red - right?" I had fun though, although not as much as I'd expected.

The Chequers, Fordham - Slightly daunting to play a 45 minute set of original music to a group of locals that are used to covers from the dexterous Jacen Bruce. But fair play to them, they stayed and clapped and even bought me a drink or two, so it must have gone well. It was nearly all over, however, when the double bass decided it wanted to join in and very nearly fell on my head. Quick thinking from an audience member saved the day.

Filming at The Duchess part 2 - This time it was for a Stella Artois advert or some beer or other. As usual though, they'd finished filming by the time I arrived! It was still an entertaining evening as I ended up jamming on a cover of The Doors' Light My Fire.

Other News - well there is some, but I can't tell you yet. I will know more later today, so stay tuned.

Daren
xxx

Until We Pass This Way Again (Video)

The End Of The Video Quest

It's taken me nearly a month and a lot of false starts, but yesterday I finally got my first proper clip up on YouTube! You'd think it would be quite easy these days, but no! Either the video was too dark, or the music unintelligible, or the picture was the wrong format, it just seemed to be one problem after another. Yesterday I finally cracked it though, and the first of four videos from my Monkey Chews gig went on-line. Enough talking, here it is:



There will be three more videos to come, so look out for them!



Okay, I promised not to mention it again, but there are only two more days of voting left for Orange Unsigned - so please pop over and give me two more votes (one each day) - if you haven't signed up yet, it's never too late!!

http://orangeunsignedact.co.uk/acts/daren-callow



Lot's of great gigs coming up, including some out of town (Ely, St. Albans - and I'm hoping to get down to Brighton to play soon too) - for the full list go here. One in particular I'd like to draw your attention to is Thursday 25th September at the White Hart in Whitechapel (1 Mile End Road) - I played there a couple of months back and despite being hard to find (the stairs are behind two closed doors, one of which is marked Private!!!) boasts a great PA and a musician friendly atmosphere. I'm taking all my kit (weird voice box and looper included) to this one to create a big sound... hoping to video it too, so look out for that.


That's it for now,

Daren
xxx

I Need Your Love (And Your Vote)

This is the last time I'll mention this, as I'm not hugely into doing on-line talent competitions. But please do sign up as a fan on the Orange Unsigned site and vote for me as often as you can spare the time... here are the official instructions:


Hello everyone.

It is with great pleasure we can announce that Orange unsignedAct
is now open for voting!

You can vote up to three times per day (one vote per act) – so
logon to www.orangeunsignedact.co.uk now and give your favourite
acts the chance to win one of the 25 spots at the auditions and
the much sought after prize, thanks to Channel 4, Orange and
Sony Ericsson.

Remember, you can only vote if you're logged in as a fan, so if
you aren't one already – go to the site and sign up now.

You can vote each and every day until September 14th – so keep
coming back to the site and support the music you love.

Thousands of talented artists are relying on you – be the best fan
ever and make a massive impact – get voting now and be a part of
music's future!



http://orangeunsignedact.co.uk/acts/daren-callow

Hopefully you'll help bring my tunes to the attention of the judges, but I realise that it's all a bit arbitrary (ie those acts with hordes of internet-savvy fans will do best) - but hey, I'm in it, and I want to win it!!! So I really do need your love!!

Thank You so much to those that have voted and will vote!

Off to play at Lesstival today, the festival where less is definitely less.

Lots more gigs coming up, check them out here.

Daren
xx

Famous

You know you've really arrived in the Blog world (and the world in general) - when you are featured in a RAT GiRL comic strip!! It was a total surprise and it's really made my day. Do check it out here:

The Adventures of RAT GiRL

Thank you sooo much Giggle!

Btw, the free sampler CD offer is on-going... and I'm just about to upgrade it to version II (mostly the same stuff, but with a new version of Lightkeeper, the live part of Denver, and a new "secret" track)... so if you'd like a copy winging its way to your mailbox (anywhere in the world) just email me a postal address to music @ darencallow . co . uk (remove the spaces) - and it shall be yours!! I can't guarantee choccies though, but if you write something nice about me, who knows...)

Speaking of famous, last night was 15 Minute Club @ The Living Room in Islington. I have to say it was another excellent night, those 15 Minute people put on a quite excellent show. All the acts were very good indeed, which made me quite nervous to be there, if you want to check them out here are some links:

Lisa Theunissen - the beautiful host of the evening, very powerful voice and songs.
Luke Jackson - yes he really is 14!! I was very impressed, he has a great voice and plays with total confidence. A real star in the making, and his dad (Paul) was lovely too.
Belinda Oakley - arrived late so had to go on without much preparation - didn't show though. She both looks and sounds beautiful - captivating!
Daren Callow - I hear he's really good (and well dressed) - but I missed his set as I was otherwise engaged. (ha ha)
Kirsten Thien & Galia Arad - two sassy chicks from NYC, they nearly didn't make it as one of them forgot that you might need your passport to get into the UK... they are heading to Ireland now.

There was also Lawrence and another chap on piano, but I didn't write his name down... sorry!

The evening ended with us all jamming on Oooo Take Another Little Bit Of My Heart Now Baby... (really) and then I ended up chatting to a chap called Karl who used to roadie for Culture Club and Depeche Mode (amongst others)... he has a tape somewhere on top of his wardrobe of the very first time that Sade played as Sade.

Phew. No wonder my head hurts this morning.

P.S. Please vote for me: http://orangeunsignedact.co.uk/acts/daren-callow