Well that was a typically slow start to the year. Probably something to do with the fact that Christmas itself was very slow - time for reflection on a reasonably busy 2010, and a time to see family properly (not just pop by for the odd 'good' meal cooked by my Mum and to beat my dad at Playstation football), to see returning friends for beer (Matt, Ben, Colin) as well as friends who live just half an hour down the road but whom I just never get the chance to see these days. It was slow, but it was nice, it was what I wanted, but I didn't really get into the starting blocks of 2011 until about a week ago it feels, probably because that magnificent mix of good food, drink and witty banter didn't make me feel hungry for new challenges as such, but merely a bit bloated and too relaxed. The unexpected radio gig with Aidy, and the Eureka Stockade band meetings about how to make 2011 our best year yet aside, I've spent too much time writing synopsis for new plays, writing potential lyrics for new albums, and making notes for future projects, without actually doing anything constructive. And I need to be constructive - after all, this is the year I turn 30, which as we all know is the end of the world. The last week though has been great.
The majority of my time this year, musically at least, has been in rehearsals for the Dowsing For Sound project. I'm still amazed by this event - 40 singers, and a hell of a band, playing songs that to be honest, shouldn't be played by this line-up. The music is adventurous, challenging, uplifting...I could go on, but yeah - I'm loving it, I love being pushed out of my comfort zone as a drummer, I love having to sit and work things out and that lovely buzz when it all comes together. And what Andrea has done with the band is creating more than just a bunch of session musos, but a bunch of musicians who bounce ideas off each other, who banter even during the stressful bits, a proper team. Tomorrow the band and choir rehearse together for the first time ever, the gig is in 2 weeks time (we have lots of other rehearsals in the diary), this is actually scary stuff, but I've not been this excited about a rehearsal in years. One thing is for sure though, although it was often suggested this was going to be a one-off project, I'm pretty certain we'll do it again, there's a real sense that this is too big a project to be put aside after one huge show.
Meanwhile, I've decided that for my writing this year I need to focus more, not do any Fringe festivals, and build my online profile a bit. I had this idea of filming 6 plays in 1 evening, at CB2, fully rehearsed, short pieces, professionally filmed but all with just one fixed camera. It was an idea I was initially keen on, but having had 2 meetings now with my creative consultant for this, Michelle, several things were pointed out to me - it would look rubbish unless you film them as 'films' as one-shot productions generally don't work, if the audience don't laugh it'll look bad, it's a hell of a lot of pressure on the actors to nail it all in front of the cameras in one night, and perhaps most importantly - who the hell would watch it on YouTube? Michelle was completely right, and I knew it, once she pointed out these things to me, and I appreciated her stopping me waste my time. But then looking at the scripts we were going to film it occurred to us - why not start making them (or at least the better ones - we've got 3 out of the 6 earmarked) into proper films? 10 minute shorts, but with all the professional quality you'd expect. Suddenly, two days later (ie; tonight) I found myself in a meeting with Michelle (who is now producer) and the mighty Robert Jezek (acclaimed actor - he's done Eastenders, James Bond films and everything) who wants to direct my script, 'If You Can't Make Me Happy' - which stems from a full play I wrote 3 years ago called 'Gone Midnight', but essentially was a short play I wrote during that difficult gap between Christmas and New Year. I've never written for film before, and the script was still very much a theatre piece (in fact I wrote it for my mate Sarah for her Leicester Comedy Festival production for later this year), but under Robert's experienced, tasteful guidance, we went through it line by line, editing, fixing, and in a re-write's time (I'll nail by mid-week) we'll have the final draft. Everybody involved likes the piece, and it's not far off being my first bit of film writing - essentially I need to get to the point more, and not explain every detail in dialogue like I need to for stage pieces as the visual element will cover much more than words need to say. It's exciting, I'm working with two outstanding people on this, both of whom are taking it seriously, which means they're taking me seriously. Tomorrow night, Michelle is going to approach the cast we have in mind, and then hopefully we start screen-testing next week, before filming starts in February. It's a ten minute film, but my first foray into writing for this medium - to be writing films wasn't on my to-do list for the year (I wanted to edge out of theatre and more into radio sitcoms) but it's a welcome step in the right direction. Michelle said I'd be hooked, I denied it, but once again she's right. Exciting times.
Also today, I started rehearsals with Lu, with our two London gigs creeping up, and it's only a matter of time before my other bands start playing this year - there's some really good stuff (festivals, nice venues) coming up with Flaming June in the summer, and also label-wise I'm pathetically behind with my paperwork for the forthcoming releases from Black Cloud Nine, Eureka Stockade (we're releasing 6 singles this year) and Tom Tilbury. I've just looked at my diary, and although my forthcoming couple of weeks does include pleasurable things such as a beer festival with friends next week, I've just realised that after tonight I don't have a free evening until the 30th January. This annoys me a little because there's other things I want to do this month which I can't - writing with Heather for example, got this amazing idea that I know she can take to a new level with her improvisational skills, yet despite a drunken discussion about it on New Years Eve and a great deal of enthusiasm by email and text, our diaries just haven't worked out yet and we need to work on this soon. But there's nothing so lovely as looking at a diary packed with creative goodness, I can see 2011 already looking like it's going to be a bit of a treat.
Currently watching: How Not To Live Your Live (DVD - series 1, BBC iPlayer- series 3)
Currently listening to: David Ford - Songs For The Road, the Dowsing For Sound set, a self-made Wave Pictures compilation
Currently reading: This Is Uncool - a history of punk/disco anthems, We Can't All Be Astronauts
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