Sunday Night At The Alamo... er I mean Edwards

Well, you missed a treat. It was probably one of the most bizarre and yet strangely entertaining nights I've ever been involved in. First of all, many thanks to Alex, Andy, Kris, Haydn and Carole who made it out through carnival traffic, the maddest disco you've ever been to and, no doubt, some angry redskins to come along and support me.

I must admit I had a nervous feeling about the gig when I arrived to find no one there (load-in is supposed to be 5.30pm, I got there at 6.15). In fact no one appeared until 7pm ish, when I was starting to think I was in the wrong place. The arrivee was the outlaw Robbie James: sound engineer, money collector and, as it turned out, performer. He proceeded to throw chairs and sofas around as if we were barricading up the Alamo in anticipation of the arrival of the cavalry.

Needless to say soundcheck was delayed somewhat, but the other turns started to arrive and I introduced myself. I got chatting to a jovial fellow by the name of Wayne Myers... Don't I know you from somewhere? he asked. We went through a number of acoustic venues we'd been to recently with no matches. Perhaps you saw me in a band? No idea, so we left it...

[Funny aside 1: I guy wanders into the soundcheck looks around and then takes out his mobile phone. He dials. The guy sitting on the sofa just in front of him's phone rings. He takes it out. Hello? Hello? I thought you were playing at Edwards tonight. I am, wait I can't hear you. I can't hear you either... first guy heads to the door. I start to point... eventually he realises he's phoning a guy 3 feet away from him!!]

Soundcheck was completed somewhat hap-hazardly... with much PA popping and microphone placement. The punters began to come in and we looked at each other wondering what order or how long we were playing for... no problem, the outlaw had it all in hand... reverse soundcheck order, two songs each... then the whole thing again, three songs each. Here we go then.

First up is a chap by the name of Red Cesare I believe, who sang some of the most manic and amusing songs I've heard in a while... couldn't catch many of the lyrics due to the PA being a bit hit and miss, but it was fun anyway. Wayne was next up. Again very entertaining, my brother watches interestedly. Then turns to me and says, What was the name of that guy who used to record at 2nd Sense? No idea, I say. But bells are starting to ring. At the end of his set the sound engineer/outlaw is nowhere to be seen. What to do? Play another song? Yeah, why not... so he does.

Next up is me!! Sound engineer re-appeared, I negotiate my way through microphone cables and sofa cushions onto the make-shift stage. I play I Need Your Love and Minneapolis, Hungover, Tired, Awake. It goes well, I think...

After me is something else altogether. A young 19 year old lad called Chris Turpin (see Pic), wearing a BRMC t-shirt, who proceeds to play and sing like an 80 year old american blues player!! It's the most extraordinary thing. The voice appears to be coming from someone else, we all sit and stare in amazement.

Finally it's the turn of Jimmy Chan, a kind of urban protest singer, a bit like an acoustic version of The Streets. Wow, what a mix... and then we do it all over again.

In my second set I play, All I Want Is You, Vulnerable and Do You Want To Dance?, which seems to go down particularly well.

[Funny aside 2: In Wayne's second apperance he is accompanied by a flautist. I assume it's a band member, but it turns out Wayne met him 5 minutes before they played together! So what did you do, just name the key? I ask. Yep, he says. He was pretty good in A, but a bit dodgy in Bb!]

After Wayne plays his second set I sidle up. Did you ever record in Harrow? Yes. At 2nd Sense? Yes. Then you do know me, and more to the point you know my brother (I point) who played drums for you. Jaws drop, Haydn and Wayne haven't seen each other for about 20 years!! Told you it was a bizarre night.

To cap it all Robbie James plays a set of pure Americana blues... told you he was a genuine outlaw! And we swap MySpace details and CDs and wander off into the night slightly reeling from it all... I keep glancing over my shoulder feeling like an extra from Il Mariachi, is the Mexican army following me? Where the heck is my horse!?

Dxx

P.S. Kris photographed the whole evening, here are his pics of me and Chris Turpin.

Wish Me Luck

I've entered a competition in Guitarist magazine, it's good to do these things as it's another outlet for the music and a great motivator to get things done. With the latter in mind it was cool that they needed two tracks to listen to, and this spurred me on to record Home / Lightkeeper (see post) and a new version of Vulnerable.

Please do check them out, and let me know what you think:

Home / Lightkeeper

Vulnerable

The prize is really cool, a chance to gig as support to two more established acoustic artists and a Yamaha guitar!! I find out on the 24th if I've made it to the last six.

Another reason to wish me luck is I have a gig on Sunday (at Edwards in Hammersmith). I haven't done a proper set for a while, so I'm gonna have to practice hard. If you happen to like the tunes, then do consider coming along. Details are here.

Dxx

Are We There Yet?

I hinted in a much earlier Blog that I've been waiting for something for half a lifetime... which in my case is a scary 19 years!! Not long to go now and I'm feeling the excitment grow. Honestly, I haven't felt like this since I was a kid, it's nice when something comes along to make you feel that way. Can't wait!!

Goodbye Old Friend

I've had a companion (well actually, in best Only Fools And Horses tradition I've actually had three of them... the first gave up the ghost after I dropped it in some girl's loo [a whole other story], and the second was stolen or went awol in a Clapham bar) on my travels and adventures over the last two years, that I'm finally saying goodbye to. It's been more than just a companion though, it's been my phone, my mp3 player and, most importantly, my camera. All the pictures (baring one or two) in this Blog were taken by me using my wonderful Sony Ericsson W800.

I have a brand new W880i now, but it can never be quite the same. The very best thing about the W800 was that you just had to turn it on it's side, open the proper camera-style shutter, and press the camera-style big silver button to take a pic. Okay, it wasn't overly compatible with my Mac, but I did manage to get Calender and Address Book info on there (easily), and copy MP3s from iTunes (rather frustratingly hard). The facility to download pictures often failed and recently it took to switching itself off at every opportunity, including mid-phonecall.

But all the same I'll miss it. Take a flick back through earlier posts to see some of the places we've been and the pictures we took.

Dxx

P.S. I've decided to recycle my phone in aid of charity, if you have phones lying around I suggest you do the same.

And So To The End... for now.

Could this be it? Could this be the last time I sell T-Shirts for the Pet Shop Boys? No idea, in theory the last date should be in Barcelona, but that’s not until October so anything could happen before then. I’m in Lokerse in Belgium. The Magic Numbers are playing the light is fading and insects are starting to buzz about. It’s a slow selling day today, these festivals rarely involve much selling, but there are usually a few interesting sights to distract me. Today the Coca-cola girls have all been dressed as nurses, complete with stockings and suspenders, yummy. There are worse views.

The show finishes at about 1am tomorrow morning, it will take an hour and a half to pack my stuff up and then we drive for an hour back to Brussels. Later we will take the Eurostar home and the adventure ends for now. On Tuesday I fly to Ibiza for a few days rest and then the song-writing and playing will begin in earnest.

Here We Go...

Here we go then - the next to last trip with the Pet Shop Boys. Today it’s Malaga in Spain. It’s been a fun day so far, we arrived last night and checked in late, early lobby call, but no sign of the bus. Eventually we overhear the Tour Manager on the phone to the local promoters, “Well I don’t see how you could mistake 8am for 8pm!”. The bus that was due to pick us up at 8.30 in the morning isn’t going to arrive ‘til 20:30… whoops! Mistake rectified they eventually turn up, only for the drivers to not know where they were going. The first bus dumps the crew in the middle of the car park, the second gets lost. In the end our Production Manager spots the gig and manages to direct them there, luckily he speaks Spanish.

At the venue the problems continue, there is no power in the dressing rooms or to the back-line on stage. Much head scratching and shrugging follows, some thing is unplugged and replugged, time passes. Half an hour later the power returns. Time to try and find out where I’m selling from. Only the man I need isn’t here yet, so I wait.

When he does arrive it’s something of an anti-climax, the selling spot is a piece of bare concrete with two crowd barriers. No table, no power, no light, no change. Can I have a table? No. Eventually I negotiate a stage riser… and I pick up another barrier and carry it over. We’re getting there now, just the power and light to fix. I’m having trepidations given the power debacle earlier. No worries, I’m told, you can get power from the bar. Although the bar has no power. Well no real rush, seven hours ‘til doors.

With about 3 hours ‘til doors, I’m still powerless. But I have my trusty light (see earlier Blog), well I did have it. Right up until I dropped it on the floor and broke the bulb. Now my heart is really sinking, how to fix this one in time? My pleas for help are mostly met with shrugs and blank looks, no one has a bulb (not surprising) and no one seems to know what to do (not too surprising either). Eventually I ask a guy who I know speaks good English, and… he can’t help either. Still at least he could point me to someone who could. I ask again and this time (I think ‘cos he was getting fed up with me) he finds someone who can help and explains in Spanish. Result! This guy talks to two other guys and they set off to buy new bulbs.

Just the power and change to go then. They are setting up a generator at the bar, so that’s looking good. I collar another English speaker at the bar and ask about plugging in, no problem, but I have to wait for an electrician as there are no spare sockets. Okay fine, how about some change. Hmmmm, perhaps when they fill the tills. Perhaps never (as it turns out, never, even though he promises to send someone over).

In due course the electricians arrive and I look plaintive with broken light and plug in hand. My saviour turns out to be a very handsome young Spaniard called Pedro. Even though he speaks no English, he plugs me in, puts one of the two new bulbs in and then proceeds to fix it at a good angle high up the wall. He’s a bit of a perfectionist too, much tweaking later he is happy and so am I.

By this time it’s about an hour ‘til doors, but I’m set fair to go. Of course the Pet Shop Boys are not on until 00:30 (which of course means 00:45 as they are scrupulous about being 15 minutes late for every show), so I have to work through the two support acts. In this case they are a rock band, at least one of which thinks he’s in Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (he even broke into the riff from Whatever Happened To My Rock’n’Roll in the soundcheck to prove the point). The rest of the band aren’t too sure though and it turns out to be slightly better than average pop rock.

[Okay, slight break here as a guy dressed as a seven foot soft drinks bottle has just walked past!]

The next support band are a female singer (blond, leggy, big… you know) and her four semi-naked and buffed backing dancers (male, in case you haven’t guessed) doing disco classics. Gay icons? I wonder. Well at least they played some stuff I knew, ahem.

Well we’re pretty much up to date now. The Boys are on stage now in the middle of Heartbeat, about 3/4s of an hour to go and then it’s the mass exodus. After this I pack up and load the truck, which drives overnight to Belgium! We fly tomorrow, so I at least get a few hours in bed, I feel like I deserve it!

Dxxx
(in Malaga, Spain)

P.S. Back at the hotel now, it’s 04:10 and I really am (almost) ready for bed. Well I will be when I finish this vodka, and perhaps a beer, and turn the computer off… lobby call is 10:45, so time for some rest. Good night!

Iraq 1-0 Saudi Arabia

Well done to a genuinely cross-community Iraqi football team. A show of how sport conquers aggression and war every day of the week. I hope it has some influence on the hearts of genuine Iraqis, however small a thing it is. And people sometimes wonder why I love football.

Views From The Stall

I've had a few interesting or slightly surreal views from my selling pitches recently. There was the decrepid Italian villa just outside Milan, the glistening wet roads and hotels of Montreux, the plastic Biomes of Eden and this surreal view: the winner's enclosure at Newmarket racecourse. Yup, the Pet Shop Boys were sharing the bill with seven races and my selling spot (in a wooden pagoda) had a cracking view of the horses after they finished the race and made their way to the winners enclosure.

Live in Hammersmith

Hi friends, some very advance notice here, but I'll be doing two sets (one in each half) at this venue (see below).

I need to get 10 people through the door to guarantee a re-booking, so please invite any music loving friends.

I'll confirm stage times a bit nearer the date, but please write in your diary!

See you there,

Dx


DATE: 26TH AUGUST 2007

VENUE: EDWARDS, HAMMERSMITH BROADWAY, W6.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A MAP

Live

Wow, just spent an hour practising. Old songs, very old songs, new songs. Songs I don't even know yet. Very intense feelings in some of those songs. Cries of anguish and betrayal mixed in with songs about happiness, love and the freedom of life. Bipolar, moi?

Some are quite hard to sing as they are very emotional, some are fun and funky and make me wish I had a band to do them justice. It's quite a hard thing to try and play original music for an hour with just voice and acoustic guitar and make it fun and interesting. I started to tire after about half and hour, I didn't realise how much energy it takes out of you. Mental and physical.

It's weird how many of my songs are about death. Well actually it's not weird at all, considering how my life has played out over the last few years. You'd think I would be sick of life, scared of relationships, scared of friendship... for fear of losing more. But I don't feel that way, if anything I feel more and more glad to be alive and to have some great people in my life right now.

My most recent song is about travel, adventure, war, love and dreams... so perhaps I am moving on creatively too.

Anyway, I have also started actively looking to book up some gigs as my current tour of duty is starting to fade out. It's time to fade up the music.

Dxxxx

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

A Postcard From Brighton

Here I am back by the sea. Weather sunny but windy. Filled with memories of childhood holidays, and gigs by the coast. Day off today and then a gig in town tomorrow. Then we fly to Copenhagen from Stanstead.

Having fun with Garage Band at the moment. Wish you were all here.

Dxxxx

Hamburg... again.

The last time I was in Hamburg was in '88... this time I stayed in room 666 (no joke).

The silly picture is the whole crew in Hamburg before the show... who's idea was the moustaches? Actually it was Colin's (laying down at the front).

Now I'm in Stuttgart for a couple of days off. I'm finally getting my camera back too, so more pictures to view soon.

That's all for now.

Wolfsburg, Germany

They make VWs here. The VW factory looks like Battersea power station with all it's legs in a row. If it was a table it would fall over. By contrast Battersea power station looks reassuringly stable.

Of course most of the towns we are visiting were destroyed during the war and have been subsequently rebuilt in the 50s. They are a weird mix of modern and fake old, well laid out and spacious, but perhaps lacking in soul.

A Big Mac tastes the same everywhere in the world, Diet Coke definitely tastes different.

Why do you always crave fast food when you are hungover?

Why do beggars always seem to have dogs these days?

When the Berlin wall came down the Berliners gained lots of open space. They made some nice parks.

Q: What do you do when you need to take your computer to the lobby before doors open in fifteen minutes and an internationally famous popstar is using it?

I left my phone at home, more than anything I miss being able to take pictures. How very 21st century.

Industrial towns look bleak in the rain.

I miss my guitars.

There is something strangely attractive about a shop that sells everything for 1 Euro.

Why does my browser insist in translating sites into the local language of wherever I am?! Just because I am in Germany doesn't mean I can suddenly speak German. Als Entwurf Speichern anyone?

A: Wait patiently whilst growing increasingly anxious.

There are no wolves in Wolfsburg.

In The Back Of The Van

This is where I work. It's a nice enough environment, usually with lots of fresh air and natural light, although occasionally it's a bit cold and dark or very hot and I have to turn the lights on or wrap up warm or strip off. My desk is a flight case and intray is a cardboard box. Like many people I have a phone (mobile) and a computer (Mac... no power though, battery only).

It's safe enough, the only worries are getting dirty or spiking myself whilst counting badges. Oh it's a bit grubby too, and occasionally people push heavy boxes at you or you have to pick your way around speakers and ironwork that's not being used, but on the whole I like it. People visit from time to time, but usually only for a fag and a quick chat. Somedays no one comes by.

It's a kinda weird experience to visit many glamorous and interesting cities around the US and Europe and get to only see the inside of one truck and a few concert halls, but I wouldn't swap it for the world.

(Currently in Dusseldorf, Germany)