Radio sitcom

It's been a decent weekend, and I reckon the next couple of days are going to be decent too, although my caffeine intake may rise even higher. On Friday evening I rehearsed with Ethan Ash - he's got some top tunes that boy, and his family (who are old friends of mine) are just so nice, the food was good, his dogs are the friendliest I've ever met, and the songs sound great too. On Saturday I met up with a contact (who I can't say yet, because I'd be considered unprofessional and I know that more people than I'm aware of are starting to read this blog, which is totally lovely, I just need to stop being such a blabber mouth sometimes) to discuss all things radio and it looks like I've found an FM-shaped home for our sitcom, with online stuff all to follow too, it was a lovely meeting actually - completely littered with enthusiasm. In the evening I met up for a couple beers and pizza (which of course led to a couple more beers) with my mate Neil, and in the process signed his superb band, Shallow Falls, to the Cracking Tunes label - something I've been meaning to do for a while as I totally believe in the way they go about business, and it's nice that we could do it over beer and pizza - I might make this a rule for signing bands in the future actually.

Today we recorded the radio sitcom - which still has various names - it's either going to be called:

Patrick, Cameron And Their Reasonably Low-Key Adventures

or

Patrick And Cameron's Reasonably Low-Key Adventures

or

The Modest Adventures Of Patrick And Cameron

Probably the second one, but we've got a little time to decide. We started early, borrowing equipment from the mighty Rob Toulson, and setting up in Colin's very quiet flat - I'm happy we didn't use my flat now, which was the first suggestion, as Colin has everything a production needs - such as a balcony for well deserved breaks, and a Co-Op just down the road. We worked hard today - Alan our soundman worked ridiculously hard, and the cast were incredibly patient, responsive and above all they knew that we're onto a good thing with this. I've no doubt these are the bests scripts I've ever written, probably no coincidence that it's the longest I've ever spent working on anything, maybe this is where I've gone slightly wrong in some of my less successful projects...5 episodes, all wordy, but direct - it moves along quickly, and the exceptional team of actors pulled it off convincingly. The format themselves is very simple - with Colin (Woodham) and Steve Matthew playing the title roles, and Az Hussein and Vaughan Allanson filling in the gaps - the vibe was lovely, and full of banter, I like this working unit a lot. All 5 episodes (at 10-15 minutes in length) were recorded, including the very tricky final episode which, as everyone seemed to think, entered surreal territory (unlike the rest of the series which is very sitcom-ee), although ends the series on a satisfying note (or as Colin says: "It's like you've really thought this through, Paul" - he almost seemed surprised). 7 and a half hours later and we've got good takes of everything. Next step is the gruelling mixing session, which is going to take a very long time - Rob T is taking over that, and I'll have to sit with him with the script working out which takes from which scenes go in. Could be a very long process, but I genuinely think as a writer it could be the best thing I've done yet. We'll see, probably in a couple months time. In a dream world, the series would be launched on the radio station soon, and there would be enough public demand for a Christmas special. Just because I totally love Christmas. But that would be a dream, I think, but that's what dreamworld's are for, right?

Ended the weekend back at WriteOn, where the networking opportunities seem to have increased enormously over the last year or so. That, and the amount of people who go there who I genuinely consider to be good friends, and who I could chat to for hours. One of those people, Michelle, put some very big ideas into my head tonight, which got me thinking all the way home - I'm excited by certain prospects of the projects she mentioned, but I have to be careful about burning myself out, I've been on the fringes recently.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I'm in the studio with Ethan Ash laying down some new tracks with him, I like drumming to his stuff - it's all very Jack Johnson, controlled, but in the groove, should be a good session and at Half Ton Studios where I always feel at home. And then back into rehearsals with Lu, and then finishing off the scripts for my 'new material evening' in Cambridge on July 29th. And then, perhaps, the radio sitcom, and all these releases I've drummed on really, will be ready for public consumption, which is where the hard work really begins...

Currently listening to: Ed Harcourt - Lustre, Joe Jackson - Night & Day, The Travis Waltons - debut EP
Currently watching: Dad's Army, Shooting Stars
Currently drinking: Far too many energy drinks