Yep, it's that time of the year again. The foot is well and truly off the gas, the many items on my to-do list are ticked off, it's nearly time to pack my bags and badly wrapped presents and head home for Christmas. This will be my last blog post of the year (I do have one gig left - next Friday at the Black Bull in Godmanchester with Trevor but I won't write it up - I can tell you now what I'll more than likely be saying about it...'such a lovely gig, great fun to be in a band with Alister Bunclark again' etc etc), so as per tradition it's time to have a bit of a look back at what I've done over the last 12 months. Because yes, clearly it's all about me. But hopefully this does serve as some kind of justification for not seeing friends as often as I should do, for my excessive Red Bull drinking and the fact that I always look just a bit tired. I have no idea how long this post will be, but I imagine it will be a bit rambly, and very self-indulgent. Sorry about that. Anyway, 2012 - here's what I went and did...
I entered the year with a renewed sense of ambition; looking back to my first post of 2012 in January I had shorter, tidier hair and vowed to eat less pizza. I didn't stick to either of those things as the year progressed, in fact - I've eaten like a horse (a horse who likes pizza, bacon and microwave beefburgers) and my hair is a shambles, but it's always natural to start a new set of 12 months with unachievable goals. But it was a good launch into the year - I woke up on New Years' Day around a friends house to a text message saying that the FLAMING JUNE release I'd played congas on had won an award - the FATEA award for our EP, 'Nerves Of Steel.' Flaming June have played a big part in my year, Louise has changed the line-up a bit, there's been some cracking gigs, and just recently I nailed my parts for the forthcoming release which is out next year. Also in January, THE BRITISH IBM were born - a lovely bit of re-branding there, it's the band I'm in with Aidy and Dave, and alongside the name change we started rehearsing new material. At the end of the month, the three of us started recording sessions at Half Ton Studios, and our self-titled album was eventually released in July. It remains my favourite album I've been on, and the singles (especially Animal) had brilliant promo videos too - it's difficult sometimes to big-up projects you're a part of because we're all modest and all that, but I'm so proud to be on this one. Also in January I played my first gigs of the year with TREVOR JONES and also a show with JON ORCHARD. I spent a lot of February working on new material, including a 6-episode YouTube sitcom called, 'The Oscar Pike Diaries' which we never actually got around to making but I'll use this material somewhere along the line next year, played a wonderfully surreal London gig with Trevor (and band) and meetings also started with IZZY REES/NICOLSON (she uses her maiden name for acting stuff) and GRACE WILLIAMS about Edinburgh plans. I didn't quite realise at the time just how much I'd be working with Izzy on stuff this year, the poor girl must be sick of the sight of me. More gigs with Trevor in March, and it was a month where things started to get proper busy, where all the plans started to take shape. We hosted two rather fun fringe fundraisers; at the Cornerhouse in Cambridge we put on a gig called '100 Songs In 5 Hours' - the plan was to simply try and have 100 songs performed before closing time, no reason for this apart from the fact it just made it more of an interesting gig. It was a great night full of my favourite bands, 84 songs were played in total. Our second fundraiser was a newly written murder mystery which I'd bashed out in double quick time, MY UNFUNNY VALENTINE: DEATH OF A COMEDIENNE - it starred Izzy, Grace, Alan Stewart, Vaughan Allanson and myself, plus we had live music too. It was a nice show, with good food at The Missing Sock, not a rousing success, but nice enough. The same weekend as both fundraisers I played the part of Darren in a short film called MR ABERNATHY - it's a quirky and highly entertaining little film by CHRISTOPHER DANE and really nicely produced. Also in March I went on my good friend Marcus' stag-do where it was clear I am useless at shooting things, and played my first gig of the year with EUREKA STOCKADE. The month ended with my play, PROBABLY THE GREATEST GOAL EVER SCORED running at The Horse in Waterloo for 2 nights, that team did a wonderful job. April started with the news that 'Greatest Goal...' had been chosen to be performed for a further six nights at The Horse which made me happy - this time as part of the APRIL SHOWERS festival; it was a joy to watch, I just kept on going to see it. Played my first gigs of the year with The British IBM - in Stockton as part of the Stockton Calling Festival, and also played live with Flaming June and Trevor Jones. Both EDINBURGH FRINGE shows were confirmed and MICHELLE GOLDER was signed up to direct 'Greatest Goal...', it was a big step deciding to take two shows up there - considering how tough it is to even take one, but it was a challenge that excited me greatly, and at incredibly short notice I got asked to drum for THE WEDDING SINGER - THE MUSICAL at The Mumford Theatre in Cambridge. I'd never drummed in a musical before, and although preparations were rushed and stressed, it worked really well and I was really glad to be part of a show of that scale. I turned 31 in May, which panicked me a bit, finally nailed the scripts for the Edinburgh shows, played some more gigs with The British IBM, recorded with Trevor Jones and started rehearsals with the complex and challenging (in a completely positive way) beast that is DOWSING FOR SOUND. June was just crazy. Some cracking gigs with The British IBM (including a really nice show at Proud Camden in London), Trevor Jones (including a BBC session), Flaming June and Eureka Stockade, and the biggie - the Dowsing For Sound show at The Corn Exchange in Cambridge. It was an occasionally magical, exhausting, thrilling, emotionally demanding gig unlike any of us have ever experienced before (my thoughts in full are here: http://theboyrichards.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/gig-report-dowsing-for-sound-corn.html), still not entirely sure what to make of it all but there is nothing like Dowsing For Sound and I wouldn't swap it for the world. A couple weeks later we played a less stressful set at the Ickworth Race For Life festival - I also played with two other bands and did the relay dressed as Santa, like you do. On top of all of that, my really old play CRACKERJOKE WRITER was performed at The Welwyn Drama Festival. July was soon among us and so were the fringe previews, I returned to my role as Oscar Pike for a second year running with a new show titled THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH OSCAR PIKE and this was on a double bill with our own production of 'Greatest Goal...' - the show opened in Bristol, before a couple nights in Cambridge and a show in London. Rough around the edges, but with plenty of life, it was a project that we had to push through with not as many rehearsals as we wanted but seemed to go down well everywhere, and this little team of myself, Izzy, Grace, Michelle and our soundman Alan worked really well to bring it all to life. In between the previews, I gigged with Trevor Jones and Eureka Stockade, and I also drummed for another musical - this one a show simply called THE SOUND OF MUSICALS which ran for four nights at the stunning New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. A week later, I was off on tour with the British IBM to promote the release of the album - our first electric tour (the one last year was acoustic), this was perhaps more testing than the last one but we came out of it with some good memories - we played in Middlesborough, Leeds, Boston, Leicester, Manchester, Warrington and Birmingham. If you're in a band you really should be on the road, yeah? I'm hungry to do it all again. In August the British IBM played a BBC radio session and I also gigged with Flaming June and before we knew it the Edinburgh Fringe was upon us. With both 'Greatest Goal...' and 'Oscar Pike...' up there, it was an exhausting time - of course we made mistakes, our marketing wasn't great, audiences weren't exactly packed, it was without question the most difficult fringe I have ever done...but I'm still fond of these shows, proud of what we did up there, it is still the most magical place in the world and within weeks of returning Izzy and I met up and formed Fat Fox Productions with next year's Edinburgh very much one of our priorities. A week after the fringe it was LODESTAR FESTIVAL time where I'm the Director Of Theatre. Lodestar is always one of the highlights of the year and I'm lucky to be able to book some fantastic comedy/theatre for them, Helen Arney in particular was brilliant this year. Alongside all of the fun, we did 'Oscar Pike...' in front of a healthy audience - it felt like it was the best performance of Oscar, like we had finally done it justice, and a lovely way to say goodbye to this character. It was probably the first time where I felt like an 'actor', and I say that in the loosest sense - because as we all know all I do is play myself anyway, but I just got a feeling it was starting to work, that I was starting to get the hang of it. Also at Lodestar, I wrote a script for Bristol-based blues band, THE OUTLINES, and the result was an alternative musical called YOU DON'T MISS YOUR WATER which was performed on the Sunday of the festival. Another project which perhaps was written and put together a bit too quickly for comfort, but worked out pretty well I'd say. Later that month I started recording with Alister, Steve Calder and Clare Calder for a project that would eventually emerge in time for Christmas, as well as recording my parts for the new Flaming June release, and I also played live with Trevor and The British IBM. October was very gig-heavy, playing all over the country with the British IBM, Flaming June, Trevor Jones and a very cold outdoor show with Dowsing For Sound, alongside working on new script material, and the launch of our regular Fat Fox Productions new material evening, THE FOX DEN in Cambridge. I also lost my wallet and went slightly mad for a week as a result, but wrote a play I'm really proud of. In November I toured that play ('The Wallet') with another new piece, 'Man V Ants' with my first ever solo-ish show, SOME PLAYS BY PAUL RICHARDS. It was a scary step, I know I'd had quite a lot of stage time already but still - me on stage chatting for an hour really could go either way, just so much to learn if anything else. It was a step that was perhaps not on my to-do list, and the circumstances as to why I chose to do it probably aren't suitable for this blog, but - thanks to some brilliant direction from Izzy and some lovely acting from CLAUDIA McKENZIE who made her acting debut for the tour as my landlady, Pauline, it was eye-opening and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, more than I thought I would - I just seem to get an odd pleasure out of being completely out of my depth. The show was performed in Norwich, Brighton, Wales, Bristol and Gamlingay, I reckon we'll do it all again soon. Also in November I found a little time to write the Christmas show, we put on another new material night, played the last British IBM gig of the year in Birmingham (this followed a really fantastic filmed session in Nottingham) and there were also live shows with Flaming June - the radio gig at The Maltings in Farnham was particularly enjoyable, plus a recording session with THE PRISONER OF MARS. And so here we are...December. A frenetic end to the year, with recording sessions with Trevor Jones resulting in our festive single, A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, finishing off the audio bits with Izzy for our story/music Christmas album, TINSEL FACE (the music bits were the tunes I recorded with Ali, Steve and Clare all those months back) which is now available as a download, gigs with Trevor and Flaming June, and - as per tradition, we put on a nice and childish Christmas show, this one was called MARTHA AND MARVIN'S REALLY QUITE EXCITING CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE and ran for four nights.
It's not been a bad year, you know, can't really complain. As always there was things I wanted to do but simply ran of time (releasing my novel - which is still being proofread so will be out finally early next year, recording the radio sitcom, Technically Single etc) but I've probably done enough to warrant a few days off. Two tours, one as a drummer, one as an actor/writer, various festivals in various places, and worked with/met some really amazing people, you know who you are. So, some stats:
This year I have played 71 gigs with 7 different bands
I've drummed on 4 albums, 3 EPs and 4 singles
I've written 11 plays, and my work has been performed publicly 56 times
For every gig and show there's an anecdote, countless hours spent on the road and in late night service stations, the occasional crisis, the more than occasional glimmer that good things are really starting to happen. They are - and I'm quite excited about hitting the ground running for 2013. Lots of friends have supported me this year, and that's not just turning up to the shows - it's listening to me ramble on in the pub about ideas, and plans, successes and failures. A lot. Now look...I know it's been said, many times, many ways, but Merry Christmas to you. See you next year, I've got a feeling it will be a bit of a busy one x
Sunday 23 December 2012
Saturday 22 December 2012
Martha And Marvin's Really Quite Exciting Christmas Adventure
The Christmas show ran for four nights last week, after a reasonably intensive rehearsal period and you could argue and even more intense writing period before that. A day after it finished, back in the office, a friend accused me of 'lacking in the festive spirit' as I sat wearing a Santa hat but refusing to even offer a glimmer of cheeriness. I'm sure my lack of festivity was relating to the show - but not because the show can't be considered anything but a complete success - I really don't have any complaints at all - but because I've been doing the whole Christmas thing since early November and if anything I probably hit my peak too soon. Bugger. Because Christmas Day is on Tuesday - somehow I need to get that feeling back, and quick.
But back to the show. We ran for four nights, and when talking previously about this production my fear was that it was all going to be a bit too easy, a bit too safe. Maybe that's because subconsciously I felt the script may very much have been all of those things, but the production itself was far from an easy ride. Due to everyone elses commitments rehearsals were barely featuring a full team, in fact - on the Sunday, the day of the opening, when we had a full 6 hours worth of rehearsals booked in before the first performance, we'd only rehearsed twice as a full cast beforehand. The rehearsals were beautifully manic, messy but with so much energy, lines were dropped and remembered all over the place but the enthusiasm was always going to make up for it, and although it did look like we were cutting it fine there was always the sense that we would be okay, in the end, somehow. And we were, of course. Four nights; really good turnouts throughout (especially for the first and last shows), the first performance was slightly too messy for my liking, the middle two were perhaps too tight and if anything lacked the nervous excitement, the final one was as close as it was ever going to be despite a slow-ish first 10 minutes or so. The guest bands were all equally outstanding and I'm indebted to them for going along with it all because, you know, this isn't an easy gig - but they 'got it', and were each rewarded with healthy applause from our little crowd. Izzy, Steve, Hind, Paul and Elisa, plus Alan our legendary soundman, all worked incredibly hard to make their characters as likable as possible, we've all worked together before, we know how this works, and it does, very nicely indeed. Not wishing to single out praise or anything, but I did realise over the last week or so how fun Hind Shubber is to be in a show with, and not entirely sure why that was the first time in ages we've worked together because there's a really nice understanding there. Audience-wise I feel very lucky to have so many friends able to make it - from my long-term regulars Marcus, Jack, Andy, the Gamlingay lot, Vicky, Rachel, Rob to people who have only started seeing my work this year - Liz, Cathy, Rohan, Cara etc, lots of people, happy Paul.
My only reservations coming out of this run were the safety of the script. My close friend Jack was (typically) brutally honest when he said that - whilst he laughed throughout the show and found it very entertaining, it was the third Paul Richards Christmas production he's been to and he's starting to see the formula. He's right - there's the family element to it, the (intentional) mass of cheap jokes, the slightly dodgy Santa, the crisis, the happy ending, the big singalong. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this at all - it's all brand new material, a lot of work has gone into it, and each year they are better because each year I am a better writer. More jokes, more twists. And people enjoy it - which is probably the most important thing. As this year progressed I've started to experiment more as a writer, the tour show in particular demonstrated a darker side - but the Christmas show was back to what I know will please people. It pleases me too, to a certain extent, but I'm still not entirely comfortable with it. Or maybe, just maybe I'm no longer as festive as I used to be hence why I'm not enjoying it? That's a horrible thought, I'm off to see some friends and act childish, that normally helps.
But back to the show. We ran for four nights, and when talking previously about this production my fear was that it was all going to be a bit too easy, a bit too safe. Maybe that's because subconsciously I felt the script may very much have been all of those things, but the production itself was far from an easy ride. Due to everyone elses commitments rehearsals were barely featuring a full team, in fact - on the Sunday, the day of the opening, when we had a full 6 hours worth of rehearsals booked in before the first performance, we'd only rehearsed twice as a full cast beforehand. The rehearsals were beautifully manic, messy but with so much energy, lines were dropped and remembered all over the place but the enthusiasm was always going to make up for it, and although it did look like we were cutting it fine there was always the sense that we would be okay, in the end, somehow. And we were, of course. Four nights; really good turnouts throughout (especially for the first and last shows), the first performance was slightly too messy for my liking, the middle two were perhaps too tight and if anything lacked the nervous excitement, the final one was as close as it was ever going to be despite a slow-ish first 10 minutes or so. The guest bands were all equally outstanding and I'm indebted to them for going along with it all because, you know, this isn't an easy gig - but they 'got it', and were each rewarded with healthy applause from our little crowd. Izzy, Steve, Hind, Paul and Elisa, plus Alan our legendary soundman, all worked incredibly hard to make their characters as likable as possible, we've all worked together before, we know how this works, and it does, very nicely indeed. Not wishing to single out praise or anything, but I did realise over the last week or so how fun Hind Shubber is to be in a show with, and not entirely sure why that was the first time in ages we've worked together because there's a really nice understanding there. Audience-wise I feel very lucky to have so many friends able to make it - from my long-term regulars Marcus, Jack, Andy, the Gamlingay lot, Vicky, Rachel, Rob to people who have only started seeing my work this year - Liz, Cathy, Rohan, Cara etc, lots of people, happy Paul.
My only reservations coming out of this run were the safety of the script. My close friend Jack was (typically) brutally honest when he said that - whilst he laughed throughout the show and found it very entertaining, it was the third Paul Richards Christmas production he's been to and he's starting to see the formula. He's right - there's the family element to it, the (intentional) mass of cheap jokes, the slightly dodgy Santa, the crisis, the happy ending, the big singalong. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this at all - it's all brand new material, a lot of work has gone into it, and each year they are better because each year I am a better writer. More jokes, more twists. And people enjoy it - which is probably the most important thing. As this year progressed I've started to experiment more as a writer, the tour show in particular demonstrated a darker side - but the Christmas show was back to what I know will please people. It pleases me too, to a certain extent, but I'm still not entirely comfortable with it. Or maybe, just maybe I'm no longer as festive as I used to be hence why I'm not enjoying it? That's a horrible thought, I'm off to see some friends and act childish, that normally helps.
Monday 17 December 2012
My favourite tunes and albums of 2012
It's that time of the year again, where compilations and lists are made, and everyone over-analyses the year which is just about to pass. I'll be doing that about my own year shortly, as soon as this Christmas show is out of the way (first performance last night was a cracker though - and to be honest, I didn't expect it to be). As always, I've made myself a little playlist/compilation type thing of my top songs of the year, a quick reminder that it's been a good year with some outstanding stuff being released. I managed to fit 17 songs on there, no excuses for having two David Ford tracks - the man is a genius. Thought I'd might as well share it with you, just because I'm trying to distract myself from doing something else all the more productive. So here you go, my favourite tuneage of 2012:
My favourite songs of 2012 in no particular order:
BRENDAN BENSON: Bad For me
ALPHABET BACKWARDS: Sunday Best
MADNESS: My Girl 2
DAVID FORD: What's Not To Love
GUILLEMOTS: Up On The Ride
JOE JACKSON: I'm Beginning To See The Light/Take The 'A' Train/Cotton Tail
ANDY BURROWS: Maybe You
THE WINTER KINGS: The Great Pretender
GLEN HANSARD: Bird Of Sorrow
DAVID FORD: Every Time
BEN FOLDS FIVE: Do It Anyway
JACQUI & GEOFF: Uh Oh
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: Perfect Man
DEXY'S: Nowhere Is Home
GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR: Arlington's Busy
HUE & CRY: Carlos Takes A Fall
CRYBABY: I Cherish The Heartbreak More Than The Love That I Lost
As you can see, a lot of older artists on there, and a distinct lack of brand new acts with the exception of Crybaby and Alphabet Backwards - that probably has something to do with where I'm looking for new music these days, or more to the point - where I'm not looking. Something that perhaps needs to be rectified for next year, but still - the above does make for pretty awesome listening all the same.
Top albums of the year? Oh go on then, if you insist...
My top 5 albums of 2012, in order:
1. CRYBABY: Crybaby
2. DEXY'S: One Day I'm Going To Soar
3. JOE JACKSON: The Duke
4. BEN FOLDS FIVE: The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind
5. GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR: Three Chords Good
So again, very much continuing the theme of more established artists returning, rather than new acts emerging - with the exception of Crybaby. Their/his self-titled debut album is an absolute gem; dark, thoughtful, intense but oddly uplifting at the same time - I've had it for most of the year but keep coming back to it. Dexy's comeback album was a surprise joy - a complex and sometimes challenging record that I adore, Joe Jackson's Duke Ellington tribute album, The Duke, was another one I was uncertain about but have been strangely addicted to (the drumming in particular is superb), whilst reforming acts Ben Folds Five and Graham Parker & The Rumour have both produced top quality releases that have been on my car stereo repeatedly.
Anyway, that's my thoughts...
My favourite songs of 2012 in no particular order:
BRENDAN BENSON: Bad For me
ALPHABET BACKWARDS: Sunday Best
MADNESS: My Girl 2
DAVID FORD: What's Not To Love
GUILLEMOTS: Up On The Ride
JOE JACKSON: I'm Beginning To See The Light/Take The 'A' Train/Cotton Tail
ANDY BURROWS: Maybe You
THE WINTER KINGS: The Great Pretender
GLEN HANSARD: Bird Of Sorrow
DAVID FORD: Every Time
BEN FOLDS FIVE: Do It Anyway
JACQUI & GEOFF: Uh Oh
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: Perfect Man
DEXY'S: Nowhere Is Home
GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR: Arlington's Busy
HUE & CRY: Carlos Takes A Fall
CRYBABY: I Cherish The Heartbreak More Than The Love That I Lost
As you can see, a lot of older artists on there, and a distinct lack of brand new acts with the exception of Crybaby and Alphabet Backwards - that probably has something to do with where I'm looking for new music these days, or more to the point - where I'm not looking. Something that perhaps needs to be rectified for next year, but still - the above does make for pretty awesome listening all the same.
Top albums of the year? Oh go on then, if you insist...
My top 5 albums of 2012, in order:
1. CRYBABY: Crybaby
2. DEXY'S: One Day I'm Going To Soar
3. JOE JACKSON: The Duke
4. BEN FOLDS FIVE: The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind
5. GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR: Three Chords Good
So again, very much continuing the theme of more established artists returning, rather than new acts emerging - with the exception of Crybaby. Their/his self-titled debut album is an absolute gem; dark, thoughtful, intense but oddly uplifting at the same time - I've had it for most of the year but keep coming back to it. Dexy's comeback album was a surprise joy - a complex and sometimes challenging record that I adore, Joe Jackson's Duke Ellington tribute album, The Duke, was another one I was uncertain about but have been strangely addicted to (the drumming in particular is superb), whilst reforming acts Ben Folds Five and Graham Parker & The Rumour have both produced top quality releases that have been on my car stereo repeatedly.
Anyway, that's my thoughts...
Friday 14 December 2012
Tinsel Face
Ages and ages ago I had the idea of recording a storytelling Christmas album. The reasons behind this were fairly simple; 1) because we'd just formed Fat Fox Productions and needed a more of an online presence so an audio recording to be released on Bandcamp can't do any harm at all and 2) because Christmas is awesome and I thoroughly enjoy working on festive material. I started writing bits of it in a hotel in Warrington, near Manchester, whilst on tour with the British IBM. Excited by the brief notes I had made, it was clear that it also needed music - so in October I assembled some of my finest musician friends - Alister Bunclark, Clare Calder and Steve Calder (plus myself on percussion things, of course) to record funky versions of classic, and most importantly - copyright-free Christmas music. With double bass, brass, strings, piano and percussion we spent a day at Steve and Clare's house recording with some equipment borrowed from my good friend Paul Malpas and after several long hours we had nine nicely recorded tracks with some pretty diverse arrangements, Alister then mixed them and got them back to me in good time.
I then buggered off on tour with the solo-ish show with Claudia for a bit, and then had to write the Christmas stage show, which opens tomorrow...somehow, Tinsel Face - the project which we started so early on, got nudged aside and it was in danger of not happening in time for this Christmas, which was a shame given the work of the musicians involved and also the fabulous artwork of Liz Bone who spent weeks on making us an image that matched my festive desires. But obviously - as you know - it is possible to make time for something if you really want it to happen. Little things had to be changed - for example I originally wanted the story to be told by two voices, Izzy Rees and Alan Hay, but Alan then got cast in a big production of Oliver, and there just wasn't anybody else I felt would be suitable, so when I finally got around to writing the rest of the short story it was written purely for Izzy's voice. The story itself was written over two late evenings before being edited, and last weekend Izzy recorded all 9 chapters of it, using my iPhone, in a small hut at the end of her garden. She was really on form, good job too - because time-wise I left this one awfully late, and did most of it in one take (looking back on the recordings now, only two of the nine chapters were second takes).
This evening I have spent pretty much the whole night cleaning up the recordings, fitting the music in around it, and seeing if it all gels together. It really, really does...I know I'm perhaps not thinking straight because I'm hungover to buggery after last night's Christmas party (this was always intended to be my night of 'rest', but as you probably know - I get anxious when in comes to resting time), but it just feels so nice. It's twee, it's gentle, it's oddly poignant at times - but it goes somewhere, it tells a proper story, and the musical interludes between the chapters keep it lively, almost like an audio cabaret. And it doesn't outstay it's welcome either - not being arrogant or anything, but it feels like it's a really nice 46 minute listen. I think perhaps the fact we didn't use proper studios to record, and the fact that things were left slightly late, somehow meant we put more effort in, I reckon I've put more hours into this than I have the actual Christmas stage show. It feels like a very homely project.
As I write this it's currently uploading to Bandcamp, the chances are by the time you read this it'll be live - so here is the link: fatfoxproductions.bandcamp.com - we're selling the whole album for a measly £2, or if you're coming to one of the four performances of our Christmas show we'll give you a free download code. Quite sad that this was my last project of 2012, a year of lots of projects, but it feels like a satisfying one to end on.
I then buggered off on tour with the solo-ish show with Claudia for a bit, and then had to write the Christmas stage show, which opens tomorrow...somehow, Tinsel Face - the project which we started so early on, got nudged aside and it was in danger of not happening in time for this Christmas, which was a shame given the work of the musicians involved and also the fabulous artwork of Liz Bone who spent weeks on making us an image that matched my festive desires. But obviously - as you know - it is possible to make time for something if you really want it to happen. Little things had to be changed - for example I originally wanted the story to be told by two voices, Izzy Rees and Alan Hay, but Alan then got cast in a big production of Oliver, and there just wasn't anybody else I felt would be suitable, so when I finally got around to writing the rest of the short story it was written purely for Izzy's voice. The story itself was written over two late evenings before being edited, and last weekend Izzy recorded all 9 chapters of it, using my iPhone, in a small hut at the end of her garden. She was really on form, good job too - because time-wise I left this one awfully late, and did most of it in one take (looking back on the recordings now, only two of the nine chapters were second takes).
This evening I have spent pretty much the whole night cleaning up the recordings, fitting the music in around it, and seeing if it all gels together. It really, really does...I know I'm perhaps not thinking straight because I'm hungover to buggery after last night's Christmas party (this was always intended to be my night of 'rest', but as you probably know - I get anxious when in comes to resting time), but it just feels so nice. It's twee, it's gentle, it's oddly poignant at times - but it goes somewhere, it tells a proper story, and the musical interludes between the chapters keep it lively, almost like an audio cabaret. And it doesn't outstay it's welcome either - not being arrogant or anything, but it feels like it's a really nice 46 minute listen. I think perhaps the fact we didn't use proper studios to record, and the fact that things were left slightly late, somehow meant we put more effort in, I reckon I've put more hours into this than I have the actual Christmas stage show. It feels like a very homely project.
As I write this it's currently uploading to Bandcamp, the chances are by the time you read this it'll be live - so here is the link: fatfoxproductions.bandcamp.com - we're selling the whole album for a measly £2, or if you're coming to one of the four performances of our Christmas show we'll give you a free download code. Quite sad that this was my last project of 2012, a year of lots of projects, but it feels like a satisfying one to end on.
Wednesday 12 December 2012
Gig report: Trevor Jones @ The Royal Oak, St Ives
Band: Trevor Jones (duo)
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 09/12/12
Audience: Small, friendly
Set: Lots and lots of songs
Notes: Sometimes all it takes is a quick cover of 'Leaving On A Jet Plane' to win over an audience, and that's all it took on Sunday. After a very quiet start, it felt like that rendition seemed to break the ice a little with the small gathering in the corner, and the gig was further enhanced by an unplanned onstage jam with local harmonica legend Vic. A quiet gig, largely due to the fact that our set clashed with the final of The X-Factor, but we must have been enjoying ourselves as we played for 2 and a half hours without really paying much attention to the time. The duo thing works a treat in situations like this because it allows for a certain amount of improvisation. However, in last night's rehearsal I was reminded as to why I like the full band thing too, as we had our first session with the legendary Alister Bunclark (a regular collaborator of mine and one of my best friends) on piano, alongside Sammy on guitar and Tony on bass - the five of us were creating a very mighty sound indeed.
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 09/12/12
Audience: Small, friendly
Set: Lots and lots of songs
Notes: Sometimes all it takes is a quick cover of 'Leaving On A Jet Plane' to win over an audience, and that's all it took on Sunday. After a very quiet start, it felt like that rendition seemed to break the ice a little with the small gathering in the corner, and the gig was further enhanced by an unplanned onstage jam with local harmonica legend Vic. A quiet gig, largely due to the fact that our set clashed with the final of The X-Factor, but we must have been enjoying ourselves as we played for 2 and a half hours without really paying much attention to the time. The duo thing works a treat in situations like this because it allows for a certain amount of improvisation. However, in last night's rehearsal I was reminded as to why I like the full band thing too, as we had our first session with the legendary Alister Bunclark (a regular collaborator of mine and one of my best friends) on piano, alongside Sammy on guitar and Tony on bass - the five of us were creating a very mighty sound indeed.
Monday 3 December 2012
A very good Sunday
I enjoyed yesterday. As the year edges to a close I have naturally become a little reflective about where I am, where I want to be, what I've done, what I've forgotten to do this year, and plotting excitedly for 2013. It's going to be a big year for me; my ambitions are higher than ever, there's a kind of make or break feel at the moment. More on that another day, because this year isn't over yet and anything can happen in the next few weeks...well, within reason. But part of my thought process has been the drummer v writer struggle - what actually am I? Is it possible to do both? Where should my priorities fall when push comes to shove? Well, Sunday didn't help at all, but I guess that speaks volumes really about how lucky I am to have these many varied opportunities present themselves to me - in that drummer v writer struggle I know completely what I am - both. Of course.
Up early-ish on Sunday morning (but was still fashionably late) to record percussion for Trevor Jones' festive single. This was all a bit last minute - on Tuesday at the full band rehearsal, Trev - high on morphine due to back pain, played us a Christmas song he'd written a while back. We then carried on rehearsing the usual set ahead of a forthcoming show, but the song stuck in my head so I emailed him the next day suggesting we record it quickly, acoustically, and just get it out there. Trev discussed it with his management and they agreed, and it was also quickly noted that there was already a good solo recording of it knocking about already, so yesterday we just needed to add the extras, mix and master. It's called, 'A Very Merry Christmas Everyone' and it's a jolly little three minutes, on the folky side of things but beautifully well crafted and it was easy enough to lay percussion on this. We spent a couple hours getting that right, and then it was mixed and mastered before I received it via email later in the afternoon. It was set-up for release today and should be out in a couple days time...now we just need to let people know about it...
I went for lunch around my parents house afterwards as they are conveniently close to Farm Studios and my Dad seemed sceptical about how quickly this all came together. I then played him the track and he pointed out that Trevor is a "clever one" and that's pretty much the answer as to how this has worked out so well. It's a fantastic tune - but the production of it all and the way it's presented is equally as impressive and it's a privilege to be working with somebody who is not only this talented but equally somebody who is as keen as I am to get things done.
After lunch and then dinner with my parents (my mum likes to 'feed me up' - even if that means two meals in three hours) I headed back into Cambridge where my play, Toxic Tornado was being performed by WriteOn at the ADC Theatre bar as part of their Naked Stage season. Toxic Tornado has been knocking around for a while, only once previously given a public airing in a very ramshackle new material session last November. Heavily re-written, I sent this one onto WriteOn for consideration and they did me proud. Really proud. I know a lot of the WriteOn team, and they made a clear point of having a full cast/director work on my piece who I've never met before. I was slightly worried, I may have slipped into something of a comfort zone recently when it comes to casting but you know how it is - I know who 'gets' my material, I don't see the problem with having a regular pool of actors. But last night was just a wonderful thing; my play was the last on of four, the other three plays were excellent - and I haven't felt this proud in a long time about something I've written...yet it wasn't necessarily a script that on paper I was that fussed about. Christina the director - amazingly making her debut - added a new lease of life to it all, and the cast had clearly worked their backsides off because the every intricacy was nailed, remarkable considering the short rehearsal period. Every now and then at WriteOn you spot an actor who you just know you must work with - a couple years ago I noticed Izzy in a play and liked her comic timing (although I didn't actually get working with her until I started chatting to her at a Dowsing For Sound event months later), last year it was Grace who we ended up doing Edinburgh with this year. But last night I just sat there and felt that about all four of them; Amelia, Eifon, Emma, Mark - so much talent, enthusiasm, dedication - and understanding of the piece, every beat was nailed. And most importantly they're all lovely people too, a joy to chat to afterwards, there's a mutual admiration and a knowing that our paths will cross again very soon. The play itself went down a storm, the audience were a happy bunch, I drove home feeling like a very good playwright. And as much as I do a lot, and perhaps sometimes highlight successes on here, I often don't feel like that.
It feels like I'm living a double life at the moment - like many an aspiring creative person does; the routine 9-5 in the day, the artistic thrills, ups and downs of evenings and weekends. It does feel like the contrast is bigger than ever though, and not in a good way. 2013; I know it's four weeks away yet, but it's really time to push things. I had a very good Sunday, yesterday, I know this can be done.
Up early-ish on Sunday morning (but was still fashionably late) to record percussion for Trevor Jones' festive single. This was all a bit last minute - on Tuesday at the full band rehearsal, Trev - high on morphine due to back pain, played us a Christmas song he'd written a while back. We then carried on rehearsing the usual set ahead of a forthcoming show, but the song stuck in my head so I emailed him the next day suggesting we record it quickly, acoustically, and just get it out there. Trev discussed it with his management and they agreed, and it was also quickly noted that there was already a good solo recording of it knocking about already, so yesterday we just needed to add the extras, mix and master. It's called, 'A Very Merry Christmas Everyone' and it's a jolly little three minutes, on the folky side of things but beautifully well crafted and it was easy enough to lay percussion on this. We spent a couple hours getting that right, and then it was mixed and mastered before I received it via email later in the afternoon. It was set-up for release today and should be out in a couple days time...now we just need to let people know about it...
I went for lunch around my parents house afterwards as they are conveniently close to Farm Studios and my Dad seemed sceptical about how quickly this all came together. I then played him the track and he pointed out that Trevor is a "clever one" and that's pretty much the answer as to how this has worked out so well. It's a fantastic tune - but the production of it all and the way it's presented is equally as impressive and it's a privilege to be working with somebody who is not only this talented but equally somebody who is as keen as I am to get things done.
After lunch and then dinner with my parents (my mum likes to 'feed me up' - even if that means two meals in three hours) I headed back into Cambridge where my play, Toxic Tornado was being performed by WriteOn at the ADC Theatre bar as part of their Naked Stage season. Toxic Tornado has been knocking around for a while, only once previously given a public airing in a very ramshackle new material session last November. Heavily re-written, I sent this one onto WriteOn for consideration and they did me proud. Really proud. I know a lot of the WriteOn team, and they made a clear point of having a full cast/director work on my piece who I've never met before. I was slightly worried, I may have slipped into something of a comfort zone recently when it comes to casting but you know how it is - I know who 'gets' my material, I don't see the problem with having a regular pool of actors. But last night was just a wonderful thing; my play was the last on of four, the other three plays were excellent - and I haven't felt this proud in a long time about something I've written...yet it wasn't necessarily a script that on paper I was that fussed about. Christina the director - amazingly making her debut - added a new lease of life to it all, and the cast had clearly worked their backsides off because the every intricacy was nailed, remarkable considering the short rehearsal period. Every now and then at WriteOn you spot an actor who you just know you must work with - a couple years ago I noticed Izzy in a play and liked her comic timing (although I didn't actually get working with her until I started chatting to her at a Dowsing For Sound event months later), last year it was Grace who we ended up doing Edinburgh with this year. But last night I just sat there and felt that about all four of them; Amelia, Eifon, Emma, Mark - so much talent, enthusiasm, dedication - and understanding of the piece, every beat was nailed. And most importantly they're all lovely people too, a joy to chat to afterwards, there's a mutual admiration and a knowing that our paths will cross again very soon. The play itself went down a storm, the audience were a happy bunch, I drove home feeling like a very good playwright. And as much as I do a lot, and perhaps sometimes highlight successes on here, I often don't feel like that.
It feels like I'm living a double life at the moment - like many an aspiring creative person does; the routine 9-5 in the day, the artistic thrills, ups and downs of evenings and weekends. It does feel like the contrast is bigger than ever though, and not in a good way. 2013; I know it's four weeks away yet, but it's really time to push things. I had a very good Sunday, yesterday, I know this can be done.
Saturday 1 December 2012
Gig report: Flaming June @ The Mill Road Winter Fair, Cambridge
Band: Flaming June
Venue: The Mill Road Winter Fair, Cambridge (Cambridge 105 live broadcast)
Date: 01/12/12
Audience: A scattering of cold people, coming and going
Set: Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, New Song, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, New Song, Psycho, Wednesdays And Weekends
Notes: That was a cold one. The Mill Road Winter Fair in Cambridge is a joyous thing because the full vibrancy of the city we live in is on full display - in a really Christmassy kind of way. In fact, I'll go as far as to say that when it's the Mill Road Winter Fair it's officially the start of Christmas, which can only be a good thing. It was freezing cold out there today, not my preferred conga playing conditions, but very well spirited and our set (today as a duo) was being broadcast live on local station, Cambridge 105. It's very rare for a radio session to be more than a couple songs, but we had a half an hour set today and played in the bitter conditions in a little tent right next to the main road. Played well I think - Louise did especially, I never fully warmed up but was in time so people didn't notice anything particularly wrong. Perhaps the thing I like most about Flaming June is the fact Louise really keeps me on my toes; she put two songs into the set today that I'd never even heard before, slightly daunting for a radio broadcast but it keeps things exciting and she's certainly prolific. As our stage was in between a main road and a path we had a lot of passers by, many of whom stayed for a couple songs before seeing what else is on - that's to be expected with so much happening at the same time. And as always for these things it's nice to bump into briefly people you know but didn't expect to see - Shaun 'Comfy Badger' Esgate, Eva from Dowsing For Sound, Jacqui from Jacqui & Geoff, Liz's mate Daphne (who came to the new material night last night and also the Norwich performance of the 'Some Plays...' tour), my parents' next door neighbour, and at least three people who I vaguely recognised who wanted to chat to me afterwards about things we blatantly have in common if only I could remember who they actually are. Full credit to Izzy, Jack and Hodge who stayed for the whole set in the ridiculous weather, their support entirely appreciated. A very different gig, but good fun all the same.
Venue: The Mill Road Winter Fair, Cambridge (Cambridge 105 live broadcast)
Date: 01/12/12
Audience: A scattering of cold people, coming and going
Set: Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, New Song, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, New Song, Psycho, Wednesdays And Weekends
Notes: That was a cold one. The Mill Road Winter Fair in Cambridge is a joyous thing because the full vibrancy of the city we live in is on full display - in a really Christmassy kind of way. In fact, I'll go as far as to say that when it's the Mill Road Winter Fair it's officially the start of Christmas, which can only be a good thing. It was freezing cold out there today, not my preferred conga playing conditions, but very well spirited and our set (today as a duo) was being broadcast live on local station, Cambridge 105. It's very rare for a radio session to be more than a couple songs, but we had a half an hour set today and played in the bitter conditions in a little tent right next to the main road. Played well I think - Louise did especially, I never fully warmed up but was in time so people didn't notice anything particularly wrong. Perhaps the thing I like most about Flaming June is the fact Louise really keeps me on my toes; she put two songs into the set today that I'd never even heard before, slightly daunting for a radio broadcast but it keeps things exciting and she's certainly prolific. As our stage was in between a main road and a path we had a lot of passers by, many of whom stayed for a couple songs before seeing what else is on - that's to be expected with so much happening at the same time. And as always for these things it's nice to bump into briefly people you know but didn't expect to see - Shaun 'Comfy Badger' Esgate, Eva from Dowsing For Sound, Jacqui from Jacqui & Geoff, Liz's mate Daphne (who came to the new material night last night and also the Norwich performance of the 'Some Plays...' tour), my parents' next door neighbour, and at least three people who I vaguely recognised who wanted to chat to me afterwards about things we blatantly have in common if only I could remember who they actually are. Full credit to Izzy, Jack and Hodge who stayed for the whole set in the ridiculous weather, their support entirely appreciated. A very different gig, but good fun all the same.
New material night - November
Last night we put on the second of our regular Fat Fox Productions new material sessions - feels like a while since the last one but it's only been a month or so. In that month I've toured the solo-ish show with Claudia and then written the Christmas show, which is now in it's second week of rehearsals. Meanwhile, my fellow Fat Fox-er Izzy has been to India, so as you can imagine this wasn't the most prepared show we've ever put on. Add the fact that we lost a comedian (due to lack of actual new material) and guest musician (due to the fact he's done his back in and was high on morphine) and you could be forgiven to assume this wasn't going to be a particularly strong night. But strangely enough, it was - material wise we staged two festive monologues I've written, 'The Sleigh' and 'The Date With Santa' for the first time, and sandwiched in between them was a play I wrote entirely on Wednesday evening, 'Love & Legalities.' Izzy worked hard last night - she was on stage for pretty much all of it, as well as hosting, but she kept the audience interested throughout. 'Love & Legalities,' also featured myself as (wait for it...) an awkward weirdo, but it worked a treat - really happy with this piece actually, especially as it was written so quickly, I'll give it a re-write, un-Christmas it a bit and try and do more with it next year I think - there's potential for that little love(ish) story to grow. It wasn't supposed to be a Christmas-themed show last night but I'm so wrapped up in festivity that it was what we came up with, and considering it was the last day of November the audience seemed up for it too. The audience looked like being 3 people at first; Liz and Julia from work, plus Julia's mate. But, mostly thanks to Liz plugging the show (she seems really enthusiastically into our new material concept, which is lovely) loads of her mates turned up, as did a couple of regulars, and we had a good 15 people in which felt worthwhile. Socialised with pretty much everyone who came to show afterwards too and it was just a lovely little evening.
These new material nights are great for me as a writer, simply because it forces to me to write lots of new stuff, and quickly too - and we've established that I work best under ridiculous deadlines. And Izzy is perfect for these sessions too because she's such a good actress and will act any script you throw at her, I guess all in all this understanding between writer/actress is what makes Fat Fox Productions work so nicely; 2013 is going to be brilliant.
These new material nights are great for me as a writer, simply because it forces to me to write lots of new stuff, and quickly too - and we've established that I work best under ridiculous deadlines. And Izzy is perfect for these sessions too because she's such a good actress and will act any script you throw at her, I guess all in all this understanding between writer/actress is what makes Fat Fox Productions work so nicely; 2013 is going to be brilliant.
Sunday 25 November 2012
Gig report: Flaming June @ The Maltings, Farnham
Band: Flaming June
Venue: The Maltings, Farnham
Date: 25/11/12
Audience: Lots of them, amazing
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, Little Love In A Cruel World, Psycho, Wednesdays And Weekends
Notes: Hungover from cooking for my good friend Heather last night (this is the first time I have ever cooked for anybody ever - she ate all of it, which suggests it wasn't too shabby) followed by drinks, up early-ish to head down to Farnham in Surrey with Louise and Alyssa for a radio session for 'Brian Player - Folk and Roots Radio'. It was an afternoon, public gig that will eventually be broadcast to about six other stations too, and we were on the bill with lots of other folky types at the lovely Maltings in Farnham. All seated audience, again, but this time lots of them and despite a bit of a drive (Louise drove, I'm glad she did, my head was slightly muzzy from last night) we felt good coming into this one having played a decent show on Friday night. The two acts before us were very much of the quieter nature, as a result Flaming June once again came across as more than a bit raucous - but the audience lapped it up, a really good turn out and they were just so into it, we felt that onstage and not being arrogant or anything - we put on a proper show for them. The kind of show where you leave the stage out of breath and sweating, the kind of show I didn't think was on the cards considering it was a 1.30pm performance on a Sunday afternoon in deepest Surrey. Afterwards lots of CD's were sold at the merch table, lots of compliments in our direction, asked to sign EP's, decent radio interview in a small room beforehand...just a really good way to spend a Sunday. More gigs like this one please, brilliant afternoon, home in time to catch the end of the Spurs game.
Venue: The Maltings, Farnham
Date: 25/11/12
Audience: Lots of them, amazing
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, Little Love In A Cruel World, Psycho, Wednesdays And Weekends
Notes: Hungover from cooking for my good friend Heather last night (this is the first time I have ever cooked for anybody ever - she ate all of it, which suggests it wasn't too shabby) followed by drinks, up early-ish to head down to Farnham in Surrey with Louise and Alyssa for a radio session for 'Brian Player - Folk and Roots Radio'. It was an afternoon, public gig that will eventually be broadcast to about six other stations too, and we were on the bill with lots of other folky types at the lovely Maltings in Farnham. All seated audience, again, but this time lots of them and despite a bit of a drive (Louise drove, I'm glad she did, my head was slightly muzzy from last night) we felt good coming into this one having played a decent show on Friday night. The two acts before us were very much of the quieter nature, as a result Flaming June once again came across as more than a bit raucous - but the audience lapped it up, a really good turn out and they were just so into it, we felt that onstage and not being arrogant or anything - we put on a proper show for them. The kind of show where you leave the stage out of breath and sweating, the kind of show I didn't think was on the cards considering it was a 1.30pm performance on a Sunday afternoon in deepest Surrey. Afterwards lots of CD's were sold at the merch table, lots of compliments in our direction, asked to sign EP's, decent radio interview in a small room beforehand...just a really good way to spend a Sunday. More gigs like this one please, brilliant afternoon, home in time to catch the end of the Spurs game.
Saturday 24 November 2012
Gig report: Flaming June @ CB2, Cambridge
Band: Flaming June
Venue: CB2, Cambridge
Date: 24/11/12
Audience: Small, but they enjoyed it
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, Under My Skin, Psycho, Wednesday's And Weekends, Little Love In A Cruel World
Notes: My first gig in a few weeks due to the tour of the play etc, but a nice friendly little show. As part of the always jolly Night Of The Artisans monthly event, small audience this time around - about 11 people I think, but all seated which means we had their full attention and they were vocal in their enjoyment of the set. Played well, lots of energy, a little bit angry at times, good vibes on stage. Followed Tom Copson who was just incredible - his vocal range is outstanding, was a pleasure to watch that, he'll go far - everyone could see that. Shame I missed headliner Cara Winter who I've heard good things about but I had a friend in need who needed beer, but with such a nice atmosphere in the room I'm sure she would have had a great gig.
Venue: CB2, Cambridge
Date: 24/11/12
Audience: Small, but they enjoyed it
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, Under My Skin, Psycho, Wednesday's And Weekends, Little Love In A Cruel World
Notes: My first gig in a few weeks due to the tour of the play etc, but a nice friendly little show. As part of the always jolly Night Of The Artisans monthly event, small audience this time around - about 11 people I think, but all seated which means we had their full attention and they were vocal in their enjoyment of the set. Played well, lots of energy, a little bit angry at times, good vibes on stage. Followed Tom Copson who was just incredible - his vocal range is outstanding, was a pleasure to watch that, he'll go far - everyone could see that. Shame I missed headliner Cara Winter who I've heard good things about but I had a friend in need who needed beer, but with such a nice atmosphere in the room I'm sure she would have had a great gig.
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Writing the Christmas show
Last year's Christmas show, 'Three Elves, A Snowman And A Funeral' was my fourth festive show in four years and was a sell-out success in the tiny cellar of our spiritual home, CB2 in Cambridge. As daft as this may sound though, the thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it all went a bit too smoothly...if anything, I came away from that lovely little show feeling a bit flat. In our first Christmas show, 'On The 12th Day Of Alex' (which I have to admit is still my most favourite thing I've written) we were driven by fear - it was put together at such short notice and wasn't even intended for a public performance initially, in the second year for 'A Fairytale Of Bar Hill' (quite happy with this script, although it dipped a bit in the middle) we were missing many audience members due to excessive snow in the UK, the third year when we did 'Santa Claus And The Unfortunate Allegations' (poor script, I apologise to anyone who came to see it - possibly the worst thing I've ever written) one of our leading actors - Kev, was stranded in Amsterdam on the day of the first performance so I ended up taking the roles of Jesus and Cliff Richard...it's these kind of crisis' that help bring a show together, it creates a new energy. Last year, we just all knew what we were doing, and everyone enjoyed it, and I just drove home from the final performance knowing I was supposed to be happy but...
Not that you can create a major problem of course, that would just be daft, but somehow I needed to feel excited about this year's Christmas production - it can't just be another Paul Richards Christmas script, things were in danger of getting stale. It is different this year because for the first time we're working under a production name, Fat Fox Productions, and my co-founder, Izzy, probably wouldn't let a rubbish script slip through the net. I very much doubt that if I turned up to the rehearsal with, 'Santa Claus And The Unfortunate Allegations' as the script for this year's show it would have actually happened. My initial idea in our post-fringe chat at the end of August was to write and put on a full scale festive musical at a big theatre, before being reminded that this isn't really achievable given the timescale - a point that was justified even more when I (in Izzy's words) "had a meltdown" and decided to tour a solo show. And besides, there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing another Christmas show in the wonderful little venue where we've been putting on stuff for years - it's become a tradition, and no matter what the year has to throw at us there's something quite comfortable in the knowledge that you'll be feeling all warm and festive putting on a show in front of a 'home' audience, it's normally the final project of the year.
This year we've doubled the run of performances, which in itself is a little bit of a challenge (we can sell-out 2 nights reasonably easy, 4 is asking a lot though - but I'm into asking a lot at the moment), and to create a little panic I left writing the script to the very last minute. Not intentional of course, but the tour show popped up, and then I allowed myself all of last week to write it but it just wasn't happening - I have 7 half-written Christmas scripts from this year alone that I've abandoned mid-way because they just weren't funny enough, in my opinion. In the end I wrote the whole show on Sunday, started at 10am, wrote solidly until 6pm, popped out to do the front-of-house for WriteOn at the ADC, home by 8pm, finished writing it by midnight. On Monday I looked over it again, took out all the rubbish, and last night we read through it for the first time as a team...and hurrah, it works a treat. It doesn't even feel rushed, it feels like it was written by somebody who was feeling properly festive - which I was - and finally latching onto an idea which worked before letting it grow naturally into something rather manic and excitable. You can almost tell the writer has just found his 'It's Christmas Time' CD and has been having a little private party in his flat whilst working on the dialogue. Quite relieved it did work last night, you can never tell - but the tempo of it felt consistent, and it was nice to write for people I trust and have worked with before. It's more of an ensemble piece compared to anything else I've written this year (with the exception of 'My Unfunny Valentine - Death Of A Comedienne' - our murder mystery), and includes pretty much everything that was on my check list of festive things. The show opens in about 3 weeks time, so now rehearsals are pretty intense, in fact on paper it's quite a tall order. Should be a goodun, then...
Not that you can create a major problem of course, that would just be daft, but somehow I needed to feel excited about this year's Christmas production - it can't just be another Paul Richards Christmas script, things were in danger of getting stale. It is different this year because for the first time we're working under a production name, Fat Fox Productions, and my co-founder, Izzy, probably wouldn't let a rubbish script slip through the net. I very much doubt that if I turned up to the rehearsal with, 'Santa Claus And The Unfortunate Allegations' as the script for this year's show it would have actually happened. My initial idea in our post-fringe chat at the end of August was to write and put on a full scale festive musical at a big theatre, before being reminded that this isn't really achievable given the timescale - a point that was justified even more when I (in Izzy's words) "had a meltdown" and decided to tour a solo show. And besides, there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing another Christmas show in the wonderful little venue where we've been putting on stuff for years - it's become a tradition, and no matter what the year has to throw at us there's something quite comfortable in the knowledge that you'll be feeling all warm and festive putting on a show in front of a 'home' audience, it's normally the final project of the year.
This year we've doubled the run of performances, which in itself is a little bit of a challenge (we can sell-out 2 nights reasonably easy, 4 is asking a lot though - but I'm into asking a lot at the moment), and to create a little panic I left writing the script to the very last minute. Not intentional of course, but the tour show popped up, and then I allowed myself all of last week to write it but it just wasn't happening - I have 7 half-written Christmas scripts from this year alone that I've abandoned mid-way because they just weren't funny enough, in my opinion. In the end I wrote the whole show on Sunday, started at 10am, wrote solidly until 6pm, popped out to do the front-of-house for WriteOn at the ADC, home by 8pm, finished writing it by midnight. On Monday I looked over it again, took out all the rubbish, and last night we read through it for the first time as a team...and hurrah, it works a treat. It doesn't even feel rushed, it feels like it was written by somebody who was feeling properly festive - which I was - and finally latching onto an idea which worked before letting it grow naturally into something rather manic and excitable. You can almost tell the writer has just found his 'It's Christmas Time' CD and has been having a little private party in his flat whilst working on the dialogue. Quite relieved it did work last night, you can never tell - but the tempo of it felt consistent, and it was nice to write for people I trust and have worked with before. It's more of an ensemble piece compared to anything else I've written this year (with the exception of 'My Unfunny Valentine - Death Of A Comedienne' - our murder mystery), and includes pretty much everything that was on my check list of festive things. The show opens in about 3 weeks time, so now rehearsals are pretty intense, in fact on paper it's quite a tall order. Should be a goodun, then...
Monday 12 November 2012
Some Plays By Paul Richards - the first tour
Well that was fun. I was back in the office today and spent a little time trying to justify the last four days - it was a tour that lost money and felt like it killed my little car. But can you really put a price on feeling that you're really working towards something really quite marvellous? Tiny steps, really tiny steps perhaps, but steps that still mean you're actually doing something worthwhile with your time? Seven and a half weeks ago I wrote a show, last week we started touring it - even by my own impatient standards this was probably pushing it a bit. It's my first foray into an 'almost solo' show ie; a show I can pretty much nail by myself, and then have an actress contributing a few lines just for when the audience get restless of my ranty, big-handed ways. The actress in question was Claudia McKenzie - an old friend of mine of many years and one of the best musicians in Cambridge. This tour was her stage acting debut, just to add a little more pressure to the whole thing, and Izzy directed it before heading off on her travels around India. Working with Claudia and Izzy on this has been fun because they're two of my favourite people, yet it still couldn't hide the fact that this was virtually a solo show - a first for me, with barely any time at all to actually learn the lines due to gigs/other projects, and just lack of actual days. We had a mini UK tour ahead - 5 performances, in 4 days, and some rather lovely press coverage ahead of the shows including a journalist in Wales describing me as being a 'lanky hero'.
People who have seen a lot of my work have disagreed with me when I've said 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' has a 'typical Paul Richards script' because, certainly with the first half of the show at least, it's all the more darker. I never intend to write anything that is particularly happy or sad (apart from the forthcoming Christmas show, which will be the most sickeningly joyful thing ever performed - promise) so it's interesting to see what people thought of it. The format of this show was also a bit different - I decided to make it all the more informal and introduce it at the start, have a little chat to the audience, explain to them that after the plays I shall tick them off on the whiteboard and they can applaud if they wish, and then after the intro I left the stage before returning 'in character'. It's a concept I thought up a day before the dress rehearsal - simply because I hadn't had the chance to print out any programmes due to the fact the flat I'm renting was flooding so I was back living with my parents for the week as the floor dries out and they don't have a printer. It really worked - it just seemed to make the audience relaxed, it was only one step away from saying 'are you sitting comfortably?' to them...
After an awkward and at times horrible dress rehearsal at CB2 in front of an invite-only audience (sorry Rich, Chris, Michelle, Heather and Cathy that you had to sit through that) in which it was clear I wasn't exactly nailing this show, we hit Norwich the day later for the first performance. I like Norwich - I really do, I liked it when we played there on tour with the band last year, but it's all bloody one-way isn't it? Parking issues aside, our venue - The Tea Lounge, was lovely and Dina the venue manager looked after us well. It was a quiet start to the tour, an audience of 4 - Dina, my mate Jack, my mate Liz, and Liz's mate Daphne, and another slightly shaky performance on my behalf although a million times better than the dress rehearsal, and Claudia had already nailed her lines by this stage. But a nice start - and a sign that this material does work, I just needed to get my confidence up. Brighton the next day, and after a scary moment with my driving (won't go into details but let's just say we were momentarily driving the on the wrong side of the road with the traffic about to come towards us...Claudia's calm reaction of, 'I think something silly just happened there...' kept me calm as I quickly had to turn around feeling slightly embarrassed, if not relieved) we checked in at the hotel and made the longer-than-expected walk to the Ambassador. Despite a radio interview, being heavily publicised on another station, and newspaper coverage - not to mention the fact the venue had it's own PR team, clearly the people of Brighton just weren't up for seeing our show. We had an audience of one - Aidy, my bandmate but above all a friend, who came up from Cambridge to see the show. I really appreciated him being there, as much as it was weird as he was sat completely by himself. We did the full show for him though, and as time progressed it felt less awkward, he's a decent audience member laughing at the right times. Performance was another slight step-up, I missed out a few good lines in the second half and stumbled a little, but it was nothing that affected the plot and you could just feel that it was gradually starting to feel like a proper show. Enjoyed Brighton after the show - the three of us went for a few light drinks, there was a good vibe in the air.
The next morning we set off at a stupidly early hour (7.30am) to Wales, a five hour trip to a tiny village I couldn't pronounce (or spell) to do a show I was slightly worried about. Although it was starting to feel stronger and stronger as a piece, this was always going to be a performance where, for the first time, we'd have a completely neatural crowd. It helped that we got there an hour and a half early so we had some relaxing time, it helped that the staff at The Royal Oak in Rhandirmywn were so supportive of what we were doing, and it helped that the audience were absolutely wonderful people. Mostly of an older nature, you just got the sense they wanted to like it before it even started. My confidence was up, the informal introduction was more informal than ever, and we breezed through the show - some proper big laughs in there, the punchlines actually felt like punchlines, even the dog in the audience enjoyed it. Shame we couldn't hang around for long after the show but we had to dash off to the next one - Bristol.
By this stage we were really enjoying the tour - we had a show, a show that was working. My car on the other hand wasn't having such a great time - some of the noises it was starting to make were rather alarming, it was even drowning out the wonderful music of David Ford that was on the stereo. We made it to Bristol 50 minutes before the show - slightly cutting it fine, but in the capable hands of my close friend Matt who showed us to the venue where we met Kirsty who booked us for the performance. Caffe Clifton (yep, Caffe is spelt like that) is a lovely little space and a perfect setting for the play. Audience of 4 for this one - Kirsty, Matt, Matt's new girlfriend Abi and an random stranger who must have seen a poster, CD player skipped a bit but aside from that a fairly solid showing, we got laughs in the right places. Great social afterwards too - we hit some pubs, ate some good food, drank whisky that costs £8.50 a glass in an exclusive little bar, great to catch up with Matt who is an impeccible host and just one of those brilliant people you're lucky to meet in life.
Hungover and with a car that was still protesting, we drove back up to Cambridgeshire yesterday for the final performance, this time in Gamlingay. Not being arrogant or anything, but this was a cracking little performance - by far the best one yet of 'Some Plays...' - simply because we knew the show inside out, we had a vibrant audience, it was just a great way to end a tiring but great few days. As the performances progressed it was clear that both Claudia and myself were hitting our stride - I was cutting lines off the cuff that I didn't feel were working, adding a few more in every now and then, the whole show felt very natural by the end of the short run and I was starting to feel really at home up there. Shame it had to end after 5 shows really...
Claudia was a joy to tour with, just relentlessly optimistic about everything, despite the really long hours on the road, and looking at her schedule (she makes me look lazy) it's a miracle she was available for 4 whole days in row.
Anyway, this week I shall mostly be nailing the scripts for the Christmas shows, recording congas for my mate Bryan's new album and er, booking another tour for early next year.
People who have seen a lot of my work have disagreed with me when I've said 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' has a 'typical Paul Richards script' because, certainly with the first half of the show at least, it's all the more darker. I never intend to write anything that is particularly happy or sad (apart from the forthcoming Christmas show, which will be the most sickeningly joyful thing ever performed - promise) so it's interesting to see what people thought of it. The format of this show was also a bit different - I decided to make it all the more informal and introduce it at the start, have a little chat to the audience, explain to them that after the plays I shall tick them off on the whiteboard and they can applaud if they wish, and then after the intro I left the stage before returning 'in character'. It's a concept I thought up a day before the dress rehearsal - simply because I hadn't had the chance to print out any programmes due to the fact the flat I'm renting was flooding so I was back living with my parents for the week as the floor dries out and they don't have a printer. It really worked - it just seemed to make the audience relaxed, it was only one step away from saying 'are you sitting comfortably?' to them...
After an awkward and at times horrible dress rehearsal at CB2 in front of an invite-only audience (sorry Rich, Chris, Michelle, Heather and Cathy that you had to sit through that) in which it was clear I wasn't exactly nailing this show, we hit Norwich the day later for the first performance. I like Norwich - I really do, I liked it when we played there on tour with the band last year, but it's all bloody one-way isn't it? Parking issues aside, our venue - The Tea Lounge, was lovely and Dina the venue manager looked after us well. It was a quiet start to the tour, an audience of 4 - Dina, my mate Jack, my mate Liz, and Liz's mate Daphne, and another slightly shaky performance on my behalf although a million times better than the dress rehearsal, and Claudia had already nailed her lines by this stage. But a nice start - and a sign that this material does work, I just needed to get my confidence up. Brighton the next day, and after a scary moment with my driving (won't go into details but let's just say we were momentarily driving the on the wrong side of the road with the traffic about to come towards us...Claudia's calm reaction of, 'I think something silly just happened there...' kept me calm as I quickly had to turn around feeling slightly embarrassed, if not relieved) we checked in at the hotel and made the longer-than-expected walk to the Ambassador. Despite a radio interview, being heavily publicised on another station, and newspaper coverage - not to mention the fact the venue had it's own PR team, clearly the people of Brighton just weren't up for seeing our show. We had an audience of one - Aidy, my bandmate but above all a friend, who came up from Cambridge to see the show. I really appreciated him being there, as much as it was weird as he was sat completely by himself. We did the full show for him though, and as time progressed it felt less awkward, he's a decent audience member laughing at the right times. Performance was another slight step-up, I missed out a few good lines in the second half and stumbled a little, but it was nothing that affected the plot and you could just feel that it was gradually starting to feel like a proper show. Enjoyed Brighton after the show - the three of us went for a few light drinks, there was a good vibe in the air.
The next morning we set off at a stupidly early hour (7.30am) to Wales, a five hour trip to a tiny village I couldn't pronounce (or spell) to do a show I was slightly worried about. Although it was starting to feel stronger and stronger as a piece, this was always going to be a performance where, for the first time, we'd have a completely neatural crowd. It helped that we got there an hour and a half early so we had some relaxing time, it helped that the staff at The Royal Oak in Rhandirmywn were so supportive of what we were doing, and it helped that the audience were absolutely wonderful people. Mostly of an older nature, you just got the sense they wanted to like it before it even started. My confidence was up, the informal introduction was more informal than ever, and we breezed through the show - some proper big laughs in there, the punchlines actually felt like punchlines, even the dog in the audience enjoyed it. Shame we couldn't hang around for long after the show but we had to dash off to the next one - Bristol.
By this stage we were really enjoying the tour - we had a show, a show that was working. My car on the other hand wasn't having such a great time - some of the noises it was starting to make were rather alarming, it was even drowning out the wonderful music of David Ford that was on the stereo. We made it to Bristol 50 minutes before the show - slightly cutting it fine, but in the capable hands of my close friend Matt who showed us to the venue where we met Kirsty who booked us for the performance. Caffe Clifton (yep, Caffe is spelt like that) is a lovely little space and a perfect setting for the play. Audience of 4 for this one - Kirsty, Matt, Matt's new girlfriend Abi and an random stranger who must have seen a poster, CD player skipped a bit but aside from that a fairly solid showing, we got laughs in the right places. Great social afterwards too - we hit some pubs, ate some good food, drank whisky that costs £8.50 a glass in an exclusive little bar, great to catch up with Matt who is an impeccible host and just one of those brilliant people you're lucky to meet in life.
Hungover and with a car that was still protesting, we drove back up to Cambridgeshire yesterday for the final performance, this time in Gamlingay. Not being arrogant or anything, but this was a cracking little performance - by far the best one yet of 'Some Plays...' - simply because we knew the show inside out, we had a vibrant audience, it was just a great way to end a tiring but great few days. As the performances progressed it was clear that both Claudia and myself were hitting our stride - I was cutting lines off the cuff that I didn't feel were working, adding a few more in every now and then, the whole show felt very natural by the end of the short run and I was starting to feel really at home up there. Shame it had to end after 5 shows really...
Claudia was a joy to tour with, just relentlessly optimistic about everything, despite the really long hours on the road, and looking at her schedule (she makes me look lazy) it's a miracle she was available for 4 whole days in row.
Anyway, this week I shall mostly be nailing the scripts for the Christmas shows, recording congas for my mate Bryan's new album and er, booking another tour for early next year.
Sunday 4 November 2012
Pre-tour thoughts
It's been a busy couple of weeks with plenty of gigs with plenty of bands, and alongside all of this I've been working hard on the Christmas shows, the Christmas album, lots of bits of promotion (radio/newspapers) for the new projects and of course trying to nail my lines for the forthcoming tour..'Some Plays By Paul Richards' opens on Thursday night. Rehearsals have been either worrying because I'm still not quite nailing these lines yet, or really brilliant because it is the best material I've written in a long time - I'm much more fond of this than I am of the Oscar Pike stuff already because it's just remarkably honest and structurally it's all come together nicely. Yet if I get it wrong, it could be a mess...it's always the danger I guess of performing my own work; the power to destroy it. I really need to get focused, but after a minor flood in the flat I'm renting (a burst pipe in the bedroom) I've been forced to move back in to my parents' house for a week whilst the floor dries out and suddenly I'm being distracted all over the place. 3 days of intense rehearsal before the show hits the road, Claudia is brilliant fun to work with and before she went to India the direction of Izzy was superb - she just 'gets' my work more than most people. I'm on the edge with this show - this could be something rather brilliant, but I just need to put the hours in to make sure it comes together in time.
Finding the hours is never an easy thing though of course, and I'm still itching to work on other projects - the Christmas shows (any excuse to listen to festive tunes a bit early...), the radio sitcom, the Christmas album still needs finishing, the forthcoming new material night, the re-recording of 'The 12 Monologues Of Christmas' and a script for Louise Hamilton's alter-ego, Eartha Tydeville which will be a stage-show for next year (probably at the fringe). I've also got an idea for a musical which I am determined to write with the genius that is Alister Bunclark...one step at a time though, and that step has to be 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' for the next week or so. This really could go either way. Do come and see the show if you get a chance though (tickets here: www.ticketsource.co.uk/fatfoxproductions) if only to see a grown man stress a bit.
Finding the hours is never an easy thing though of course, and I'm still itching to work on other projects - the Christmas shows (any excuse to listen to festive tunes a bit early...), the radio sitcom, the Christmas album still needs finishing, the forthcoming new material night, the re-recording of 'The 12 Monologues Of Christmas' and a script for Louise Hamilton's alter-ego, Eartha Tydeville which will be a stage-show for next year (probably at the fringe). I've also got an idea for a musical which I am determined to write with the genius that is Alister Bunclark...one step at a time though, and that step has to be 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' for the next week or so. This really could go either way. Do come and see the show if you get a chance though (tickets here: www.ticketsource.co.uk/fatfoxproductions) if only to see a grown man stress a bit.
Gig report: The British IBM @ The Rose & Crown, Erdington, Birmingham
Band: The British IBM
Venue: The Rose and Crown, Erdington, Birmingham
Date: 03/11/12
Audience: Busy, clearly not there for us but friendly enough
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Down Like That, Animal, Sugar Water, Cannibal, 3 Years, Feeling, The British IBM, God's Front Porch, Not Your Day, Guns, Washing Machine
Notes: Our final (scheduled/public) gig of the year and back to playing electric with the full band for this show in Birmingham. I really like Birmingham - it's the second time we've played there this year and I like it more than most places, people just seem really friendly. Nice guesthouse, very comfortable. We were booked to play this as part of a fairly large charity event for Water Aid, a very worthy cause and organised by very nice people who made us feel welcome. Busy audience, we were the only electric band following the acoustic opener and excellent comedian Tony Cowards. Kind of get the feeling a party covers band may have been more suitable, but that's not to say we weren't well received, we were pretty much background music but with a couple of dedicated people at the front were really into it. It was all very friendly anyway, and it's the first time we've played 'Feeling' live I think. Last British IBM gig for a while as Dave is off to the USA and I'll be doing some theatre-ee stuff over the next few weeks, not a bad night at all.
Venue: The Rose and Crown, Erdington, Birmingham
Date: 03/11/12
Audience: Busy, clearly not there for us but friendly enough
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Down Like That, Animal, Sugar Water, Cannibal, 3 Years, Feeling, The British IBM, God's Front Porch, Not Your Day, Guns, Washing Machine
Notes: Our final (scheduled/public) gig of the year and back to playing electric with the full band for this show in Birmingham. I really like Birmingham - it's the second time we've played there this year and I like it more than most places, people just seem really friendly. Nice guesthouse, very comfortable. We were booked to play this as part of a fairly large charity event for Water Aid, a very worthy cause and organised by very nice people who made us feel welcome. Busy audience, we were the only electric band following the acoustic opener and excellent comedian Tony Cowards. Kind of get the feeling a party covers band may have been more suitable, but that's not to say we weren't well received, we were pretty much background music but with a couple of dedicated people at the front were really into it. It was all very friendly anyway, and it's the first time we've played 'Feeling' live I think. Last British IBM gig for a while as Dave is off to the USA and I'll be doing some theatre-ee stuff over the next few weeks, not a bad night at all.
Friday 2 November 2012
Gig report: The British IBM @ Lyric Lounge, Nottingham
Band: The British IBM
Venue: Studios at Lyric Lounge, Nottingham
Date: 31/10/12
Audience: About five people in the studio itself, but we imagine a lot more when it's broadcast...
Set: Animal, Sugar Water, the British IBM, Cannibal, Is It Too Late To Save Oscar Pike, 3 Years, God's Front Porch
Notes: Traveled up to rainy Nottingham on Wednesday night to play a studio session with Aidy (Dave was unavailable so we did it as an acoustic duo) for Lyric Lounge. Filmed as well as recorded, some really established names have recorded sessions with these guys (notably Muse and Starsailor) and alongside a 40 minute set we were interviewed. Despite the stress of finding the place in horrible wet conditions (my mate Rachel deserves a lot of credit for her navigational genius) it was a hugely enjoyable session - the interview itself was remarkably relaxed and I was happy with the performance. I may have been slightly distracted for a bit of it knowing that the flat I'm renting was flooding a little at the time, but it didn't take long for the music to take over and nice to be playing a set entirely consisting of album songs. Great people, hopefully this looks as good as it felt at the time. Then got more than a bit lost heading home, eventually returning to my very damp flat at 2.30am...
Venue: Studios at Lyric Lounge, Nottingham
Date: 31/10/12
Audience: About five people in the studio itself, but we imagine a lot more when it's broadcast...
Set: Animal, Sugar Water, the British IBM, Cannibal, Is It Too Late To Save Oscar Pike, 3 Years, God's Front Porch
Notes: Traveled up to rainy Nottingham on Wednesday night to play a studio session with Aidy (Dave was unavailable so we did it as an acoustic duo) for Lyric Lounge. Filmed as well as recorded, some really established names have recorded sessions with these guys (notably Muse and Starsailor) and alongside a 40 minute set we were interviewed. Despite the stress of finding the place in horrible wet conditions (my mate Rachel deserves a lot of credit for her navigational genius) it was a hugely enjoyable session - the interview itself was remarkably relaxed and I was happy with the performance. I may have been slightly distracted for a bit of it knowing that the flat I'm renting was flooding a little at the time, but it didn't take long for the music to take over and nice to be playing a set entirely consisting of album songs. Great people, hopefully this looks as good as it felt at the time. Then got more than a bit lost heading home, eventually returning to my very damp flat at 2.30am...
Sunday 28 October 2012
Gig report: Flaming June @ Oxjam, Bedford
Band: Flaming June
Venue: Oxjam @ Esquires, Bedford
Date: 27/10/12
Audience: Hardly any at first, but plenty by the end, some big applause too
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends
Notes: Our third and final Oxjam gig of the month - having now done Bury, Cambridge and Bedford, I've enjoyed them all - mostly because each gig has been so different. This was our third gig with Alyssa on violin and you can just see her confidence growing, perhaps helped by the fact we've played an identical set for three shows in a row now which is virtually unheard of for FJ gigs but this one works and we're relaxing into it nicely. This was my second gig of the day, having played with Dowsing For Sound in Cambridge earlier that day, and I left in plenty of time. Esquires in Bedford, although a nice enough venue when you actually get there, is a real bugger to find. I was literally driving around for ages...about half an hour on the street the venue is supposed to be on, only to realise it's just a bit hidden away. On arrival it all looked a bit empty, it didn't look like being a great gig - but then it turned into one, audiences trickled in until we had a reasonable crowd who seemed really into it and by the end we were really flying. Saturday was a strange day - I played two gigs, but was home having done both of them by 5.30pm. As much as I really, really enjoyed the party I went to in the evening (dressed as a skeleton wearing a cape...slightly concerned about the many pictures which were taken, especially any shots of me 'dancing'), I can't help but feel I could have done a third gig on Saturday. Two just doesn't seem enough somehow, I was just hitting my stride.
Venue: Oxjam @ Esquires, Bedford
Date: 27/10/12
Audience: Hardly any at first, but plenty by the end, some big applause too
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends
Notes: Our third and final Oxjam gig of the month - having now done Bury, Cambridge and Bedford, I've enjoyed them all - mostly because each gig has been so different. This was our third gig with Alyssa on violin and you can just see her confidence growing, perhaps helped by the fact we've played an identical set for three shows in a row now which is virtually unheard of for FJ gigs but this one works and we're relaxing into it nicely. This was my second gig of the day, having played with Dowsing For Sound in Cambridge earlier that day, and I left in plenty of time. Esquires in Bedford, although a nice enough venue when you actually get there, is a real bugger to find. I was literally driving around for ages...about half an hour on the street the venue is supposed to be on, only to realise it's just a bit hidden away. On arrival it all looked a bit empty, it didn't look like being a great gig - but then it turned into one, audiences trickled in until we had a reasonable crowd who seemed really into it and by the end we were really flying. Saturday was a strange day - I played two gigs, but was home having done both of them by 5.30pm. As much as I really, really enjoyed the party I went to in the evening (dressed as a skeleton wearing a cape...slightly concerned about the many pictures which were taken, especially any shots of me 'dancing'), I can't help but feel I could have done a third gig on Saturday. Two just doesn't seem enough somehow, I was just hitting my stride.
Gig report: Dowsing For Sound @ Outside Senate House, Cambridge
Band: Dowsing For Sound
Venue: Outside Senate House, Cambridge
Date: 27/10/12
Audience: More than a handful of passers-by who seemed to really enjoy it
Set: Empty Room, Take Me Home, Alive, Fake Empire, Take Your Mama Out, Sweet Disposition, Tonight We Fly, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Beautiful Child, One Day Like This
Notes: A last minute and slightly strange gig this one. Okay, no slightly about it. As part of a gloriously inventive festival in Cambridge where they've put a load of pianos around the city for people to play, Dowsing were asked to perform outside Senate House in Cambridge. Lovely central location, and there's nothing wrong with an outdoor performance - when it's sunny at least. It wasn't, it was drizzly but the full blast of rain held off until after the gig, which was nice of it. Such is the short notice this all came together, the choir was down to about 25 members, and band-wise it was just Andrea (piano) and myself, so a very stripped down performance. Completely unamplified and with the sound struggling thanks to the wind, desperately holding onto the audience who were fighting against the bitter cold, the spirit of Dowsing came to the fore once again and it although a toughie nobody could deny the entertainment we offered the lucky locals. Arrangements had to be tweaked as a bit considering there was just the two of us musicians, the odd moment had to be ad-libbed (the ending of 'Every Tear...' for example - my fault, that one), but that choir love what they're doing - they reminded me of Christmas carol singers at times with their relentless optimism - smiling despite throughout being absolutely freezing. This was never going to be the big-scale, ambitious gig that only Dowsing For Sound are capable of, but not a bad way to spend an hour on a Saturday morning to say the least.
Venue: Outside Senate House, Cambridge
Date: 27/10/12
Audience: More than a handful of passers-by who seemed to really enjoy it
Set: Empty Room, Take Me Home, Alive, Fake Empire, Take Your Mama Out, Sweet Disposition, Tonight We Fly, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Beautiful Child, One Day Like This
Notes: A last minute and slightly strange gig this one. Okay, no slightly about it. As part of a gloriously inventive festival in Cambridge where they've put a load of pianos around the city for people to play, Dowsing were asked to perform outside Senate House in Cambridge. Lovely central location, and there's nothing wrong with an outdoor performance - when it's sunny at least. It wasn't, it was drizzly but the full blast of rain held off until after the gig, which was nice of it. Such is the short notice this all came together, the choir was down to about 25 members, and band-wise it was just Andrea (piano) and myself, so a very stripped down performance. Completely unamplified and with the sound struggling thanks to the wind, desperately holding onto the audience who were fighting against the bitter cold, the spirit of Dowsing came to the fore once again and it although a toughie nobody could deny the entertainment we offered the lucky locals. Arrangements had to be tweaked as a bit considering there was just the two of us musicians, the odd moment had to be ad-libbed (the ending of 'Every Tear...' for example - my fault, that one), but that choir love what they're doing - they reminded me of Christmas carol singers at times with their relentless optimism - smiling despite throughout being absolutely freezing. This was never going to be the big-scale, ambitious gig that only Dowsing For Sound are capable of, but not a bad way to spend an hour on a Saturday morning to say the least.
Friday 26 October 2012
Gig report: The British IBM @ Cafe Bruxelles, Leicester
Band: The British IBM
Venue: Cafe Bruxelles, Leicester
Date: 26/10/12
Audience: Small, handful of them paying attention
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Animal, Down Like That, Three Years, Guns, The British IBM
Notes: A re-booking from the tour, another chance to perform at the beautiful looking Cafe Bruxelles in Leicester. Leicester itself is a very confusing city to navigate around, both by foot and car, and although it was our second time at the venue it was also our second time getting lost finding the place. Aidy and I played this as an acoustic duo as Dave wasn't available, the acoustic guitar/congas format is a safe and easy one and it was a very comfortable show. Not much of a crowd, but sold a few CD's afterwards, had some beers and stayed in a lovely hotel, not a bad way to spend a Thursday evening.
Venue: Cafe Bruxelles, Leicester
Date: 26/10/12
Audience: Small, handful of them paying attention
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Animal, Down Like That, Three Years, Guns, The British IBM
Notes: A re-booking from the tour, another chance to perform at the beautiful looking Cafe Bruxelles in Leicester. Leicester itself is a very confusing city to navigate around, both by foot and car, and although it was our second time at the venue it was also our second time getting lost finding the place. Aidy and I played this as an acoustic duo as Dave wasn't available, the acoustic guitar/congas format is a safe and easy one and it was a very comfortable show. Not much of a crowd, but sold a few CD's afterwards, had some beers and stayed in a lovely hotel, not a bad way to spend a Thursday evening.
Sunday 21 October 2012
Gig report: Flaming June/Trevor Jones @ Oxjam Festival, Cambridge
Bands: Flaming June and Trevor Jones
Venues: Oxjam Cambridge Takeover - Flaming June at The Emperor, Trevor Jones at The Avery
Date: 20/10/12
Audience: Enthusiastic, charitable
Sets: Flaming June - Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends; Trevor Jones - Falling, Alive, Roll On The Rain, Badman, Old Fashioned Woman, Shine A Light, All I Am, Can't Take This Anymore
Notes: The Oxjam Takeover events are such a simple idea - and for a very worthy cause (Oxfam, obviously) yet such hard work goes into making these shows happen. Not from us lazy musicians, of course, we just turn up and play - but from the organisers, who have once again put on a cracking event in Cambridge this year. Their hard work makes it very easy for us performing types, because their organisation is rigorous - and as a result we just turn up and play without any fuss whatsoever, it's the perfect gig. I was playing it this year with two bands - Flaming June at The Emperor at 4.20pm and then Trevor Jones at 9pm just down the road at The Avery. Well, it was supposed to be just down the road, but the road was closed, and I got confused with the diversion, so it took the best part of half an hour for me to make the three minute trip, but that's pretty irrelevant to the gigs themselves. It was always going to be a long day - 2 gigs and a bit of a gap in the middle, and this wasn't helped by a very unplanned drinking session the night before with friends Alister, Richard and Michael just after my British IBM rehearsal. The Flaming June gig at the Emperor was a real cracker - my conga was still a little annoyingly out of tune (something I have rectified today, finally - conga tuning isn't an easy task, mind) but the vibe in that room - especially for an afternoon - was phenomenal, the audience were just so up for it. It was fiery, fast Flaming June, more punk folk than ever, hot and sweaty and leaving us out of breath after each song - the energy levels on stage were frightening and the crowd took to us with great enthusiasm. Just one of those gigs where things worked out - there is no logic to why these things happen sometimes, just the right audience, the right band and right vibe in the room at the same time. After us were Jacqui & Geoff, a band I seem to see a lot of recently, and they also (deservedly) went down a storm - it was just something about those couple of hours in that venue where things seemed great for everyone. I then popped down to The Avery to play a set with Trevor Jones. This time it was full drums and we played it as a trio (myself and Tony Page (bass) as Trevor's rhythm section), another busy crowd - not quite as enthusiastic as the audience earlier on but I think that may have been the nature of these things, the further the day goes the more drunk people are the less attention they have towards the band on stage as they just want to chat, but we still had a lively and healthy audience applauding us. We played well, we should play well considering we've been playing this set for a while now, but it's good to know we're confident with what we're doing - I felt very comfortable up there, despite our makeshift stage being next to the ladies toilets so the occasional distraction of the hand dryer going was a minor issue. A really good day that, ending with me arguing with somebody about hip-hop. Good friends turned up to see stuff during the day (Jack, Heather, Vicky, Duncan) and I appreciate that, the Oxjam series of events across the UK all seem to flourishing and rightly so - they're so good. Playing one more with Flaming June next week in Bedford, looking forward to it.
Venues: Oxjam Cambridge Takeover - Flaming June at The Emperor, Trevor Jones at The Avery
Date: 20/10/12
Audience: Enthusiastic, charitable
Sets: Flaming June - Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends; Trevor Jones - Falling, Alive, Roll On The Rain, Badman, Old Fashioned Woman, Shine A Light, All I Am, Can't Take This Anymore
Notes: The Oxjam Takeover events are such a simple idea - and for a very worthy cause (Oxfam, obviously) yet such hard work goes into making these shows happen. Not from us lazy musicians, of course, we just turn up and play - but from the organisers, who have once again put on a cracking event in Cambridge this year. Their hard work makes it very easy for us performing types, because their organisation is rigorous - and as a result we just turn up and play without any fuss whatsoever, it's the perfect gig. I was playing it this year with two bands - Flaming June at The Emperor at 4.20pm and then Trevor Jones at 9pm just down the road at The Avery. Well, it was supposed to be just down the road, but the road was closed, and I got confused with the diversion, so it took the best part of half an hour for me to make the three minute trip, but that's pretty irrelevant to the gigs themselves. It was always going to be a long day - 2 gigs and a bit of a gap in the middle, and this wasn't helped by a very unplanned drinking session the night before with friends Alister, Richard and Michael just after my British IBM rehearsal. The Flaming June gig at the Emperor was a real cracker - my conga was still a little annoyingly out of tune (something I have rectified today, finally - conga tuning isn't an easy task, mind) but the vibe in that room - especially for an afternoon - was phenomenal, the audience were just so up for it. It was fiery, fast Flaming June, more punk folk than ever, hot and sweaty and leaving us out of breath after each song - the energy levels on stage were frightening and the crowd took to us with great enthusiasm. Just one of those gigs where things worked out - there is no logic to why these things happen sometimes, just the right audience, the right band and right vibe in the room at the same time. After us were Jacqui & Geoff, a band I seem to see a lot of recently, and they also (deservedly) went down a storm - it was just something about those couple of hours in that venue where things seemed great for everyone. I then popped down to The Avery to play a set with Trevor Jones. This time it was full drums and we played it as a trio (myself and Tony Page (bass) as Trevor's rhythm section), another busy crowd - not quite as enthusiastic as the audience earlier on but I think that may have been the nature of these things, the further the day goes the more drunk people are the less attention they have towards the band on stage as they just want to chat, but we still had a lively and healthy audience applauding us. We played well, we should play well considering we've been playing this set for a while now, but it's good to know we're confident with what we're doing - I felt very comfortable up there, despite our makeshift stage being next to the ladies toilets so the occasional distraction of the hand dryer going was a minor issue. A really good day that, ending with me arguing with somebody about hip-hop. Good friends turned up to see stuff during the day (Jack, Heather, Vicky, Duncan) and I appreciate that, the Oxjam series of events across the UK all seem to flourishing and rightly so - they're so good. Playing one more with Flaming June next week in Bedford, looking forward to it.
Thursday 18 October 2012
New material evening
We finally launched the Fat Fox Productions new material evening tonight - a month later than planned due to a previous double booking, I'd been looking forward to this one for a while. As always for such events it was hit and miss - we had a really friendly little crowd with some good friends there, so I don't know why I was so nervous performing 'The Wallet' in front of them. It's probably because I know it's heading off on tour soon, and if it didn't work it would make things quite tricky. I was so nervous tonight - it was alarming, I don't know quite what was up with me, considering I was doing it with a script in hand. As a result the first half of it was pretty shaky, until I calmed down a bit and as a result the audience seemed to relax more as well. They generally laughed at the right places, I have no doubt this script is one of my best, but I need to really learn how to be a performer and quick or else the tour will be pretty horrible. The guest stand-up (Tomson Titus) was great and showed plenty of promise, and the performance of our radio sitcom pilot, Technically Single was perhaps a little slow but does work - structurally I'm really happy with it, Hind then did my new short piece, '6 Dead Animals' with so much charm it would be impossible to not enjoy it, and the evening concluded with guest band - Cudby-Calder who absolutely stormed it - highlight of the evening in my opinion, outstanding band and although I knew Steve and Clare really well I really had no idea what this new band of theirs would be like - awesome. Drinks afterwards, and the horrible realisation that perhaps the recording of our radio sitcom can't be done this year (well, it can be but to do it properly takes time, we're running out of that) but we are doing this properly and it should be worthwhile. I just want to do everything, now, but I think as tonight's show demonstrated perhaps I need to take a step back and calm down a bit - I'm mature enough to know that not everything I do is going to work the way I want it to, but I'm still childish enough to get stroppy about that fact.
Gig report: Flaming June @ The Cornerhouse, Camnbridge
Band: Flaming June
Venue: The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
Date: 17/10/12
Audience: Busy enough, enthusiastic
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends
Notes: What looked like it was going to be a fairly run of the mill local Wednesday night gig turned into a real goodun. We were headlining - something I'm never keen on because not only do the audience tend to drift, but you have to spend the best part of 5 hours in the venue in between soundchecking first and going on last. But this really worked - it was our first gig with Alyssa on violin and she slotted in straight away, and as a whole the evening worked a treat - the two continental opening acts followed by the brilliant Jacqui & Geoff (probably my favourite Cambridge band at the moment) kept the crowd happy and we actually kept the crowd ourselves and played quite well I think. Good to see regular gig-going friends (Jack, Ken) there, as well as non-regular gig-going friends Hind and Nadine who really seemed up for a party night - I stayed and had a drink with them afterwards making for quite a late evening, but a really nice one all the same.
Venue: The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
Date: 17/10/12
Audience: Busy enough, enthusiastic
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends
Notes: What looked like it was going to be a fairly run of the mill local Wednesday night gig turned into a real goodun. We were headlining - something I'm never keen on because not only do the audience tend to drift, but you have to spend the best part of 5 hours in the venue in between soundchecking first and going on last. But this really worked - it was our first gig with Alyssa on violin and she slotted in straight away, and as a whole the evening worked a treat - the two continental opening acts followed by the brilliant Jacqui & Geoff (probably my favourite Cambridge band at the moment) kept the crowd happy and we actually kept the crowd ourselves and played quite well I think. Good to see regular gig-going friends (Jack, Ken) there, as well as non-regular gig-going friends Hind and Nadine who really seemed up for a party night - I stayed and had a drink with them afterwards making for quite a late evening, but a really nice one all the same.
Wednesday 17 October 2012
Gig report: Trevor Jones @ The Royal Oak, St Ives
Band: Trevor Jones
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 14/10/12
Audience: Merry
Set: Not sure
Notes: Early evening Sunday gigs are often a bit strange but this one felt friendly enough. Not too much to say about this one to be honest, played it as a duo with Trevor and it was his first gig in a while after the chest infection, he seemed in fine voice and it felt good to be playing these songs. Not a huge turnout but people were dancing, felt like we played well – these songs were written acoustically so they suited this environment very nicely.
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 14/10/12
Audience: Merry
Set: Not sure
Notes: Early evening Sunday gigs are often a bit strange but this one felt friendly enough. Not too much to say about this one to be honest, played it as a duo with Trevor and it was his first gig in a while after the chest infection, he seemed in fine voice and it felt good to be playing these songs. Not a huge turnout but people were dancing, felt like we played well – these songs were written acoustically so they suited this environment very nicely.
Saturday 13 October 2012
Gig report: Flaming June @ Oxjam Charity Gig, Bury St Edmunds
Band: Flaming June
Venue: Oxjam Folk Weekender @ All Saints Church And Hall, Bury St Edmunds
Date:13/10/12
Audience: Of the older nature, folky types, all very friendly
Set: Rejoice, Under My Skin, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, The Infidel, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, The Devil's Daughter, Wednesday's & Weekends
Notes: Although I've been recording recently with Louise for the new FJ release (Rumplestiltskin EP), it feels like it's been a while since I've gigged with her but this starts the first of three gigs in a row - all as part of the Oxjam charity series of events in aid of Oxfam. Played this one as a trio and it's the first time I've been on stage with Diane, the band's new violinist. Louise and Diane had rehearsed and played together before so they knew their stuff and I know a majority of these songs so it gelled together pretty quickly - it's quite nice meeting somebody and then 20 minutes later going on stage with them. The set included two songs I don't know at all - Those Were The Days and The Infidel (the first of which I was perhaps rhythmically a little shaky on) but we bashed through them with enthusiasm and relative ease. Big-ish audience in the hall, and just like last year when I played this event I came away thinking this is very much the definition of the word 'nice'.
Venue: Oxjam Folk Weekender @ All Saints Church And Hall, Bury St Edmunds
Date:13/10/12
Audience: Of the older nature, folky types, all very friendly
Set: Rejoice, Under My Skin, Rumplestiltskin, Those Were The Days, The Infidel, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, The Devil's Daughter, Wednesday's & Weekends
Notes: Although I've been recording recently with Louise for the new FJ release (Rumplestiltskin EP), it feels like it's been a while since I've gigged with her but this starts the first of three gigs in a row - all as part of the Oxjam charity series of events in aid of Oxfam. Played this one as a trio and it's the first time I've been on stage with Diane, the band's new violinist. Louise and Diane had rehearsed and played together before so they knew their stuff and I know a majority of these songs so it gelled together pretty quickly - it's quite nice meeting somebody and then 20 minutes later going on stage with them. The set included two songs I don't know at all - Those Were The Days and The Infidel (the first of which I was perhaps rhythmically a little shaky on) but we bashed through them with enthusiasm and relative ease. Big-ish audience in the hall, and just like last year when I played this event I came away thinking this is very much the definition of the word 'nice'.
Monday 8 October 2012
Gig report: The British IBM @ Rock Your Mind Festival, Middlesbrough
Band: The British IBM
Venue: Rock Your Minds Festival @ Westgarth Social Centre, Middlesbrough
Date: 07/10/12
Audience: Plenty of them, enthusiastic
Set: Cannibal, 3 Years, Animal, Sugar Water, The British IBM, Down Like That, Guns, Washing Machine
Notes: Back up north, and back on form - I'm sure this isn't a coincidence. We always like playing in Middlesbrough and this festival - organised by our manager Matt, was a charity event in aid of Rock Your Mind (a mental health awareness charity). Two indoor spaces, big old building, lovely vibe throughout the whole thing - going on at 5.30pm was perfect for us (event started at 1pm), we switched the set around a bit and seemed fresh because of it. Lovely audience, we always feel welcome at that end of the country, 9 hour round trip for a 30 minute gig but completely worth it.
Venue: Rock Your Minds Festival @ Westgarth Social Centre, Middlesbrough
Date: 07/10/12
Audience: Plenty of them, enthusiastic
Set: Cannibal, 3 Years, Animal, Sugar Water, The British IBM, Down Like That, Guns, Washing Machine
Notes: Back up north, and back on form - I'm sure this isn't a coincidence. We always like playing in Middlesbrough and this festival - organised by our manager Matt, was a charity event in aid of Rock Your Mind (a mental health awareness charity). Two indoor spaces, big old building, lovely vibe throughout the whole thing - going on at 5.30pm was perfect for us (event started at 1pm), we switched the set around a bit and seemed fresh because of it. Lovely audience, we always feel welcome at that end of the country, 9 hour round trip for a 30 minute gig but completely worth it.
Friday 5 October 2012
New projects, Christmas, and the first glimpse of 2013 from a distance
I've had a heavy cold all week, and today a strange irritation in my right eye, which is why I'm feeling a bit grumpy and unsociable and not at the pub with my friends tonight. Instead on this Friday evening I'm working on scripts, getting frustrated by them, so writing this blog post instead whilst drinking lager that is so weak and has some citrus lime thing going on with it, no wonder Tesco had a massive offer on to try and clear it, it's horrible.
And besides, I've not updated this properly for a while now, so I was a due a ramble. It feels like it's been a strange couple of weeks, I think I'm still on a post-tour-post-fringe-post-Lodestar comedown and for a brief while I was a bit concerned about not being busy. You know that fear - suddenly it's October and there really isn't time to do much else before Christmas so you might as well write the year off and think about plans for the next 12 months instead? Well that's probably why I've suddenly over-committed myself. I don't fear time off from stuff, I've got so many books I need to read, films to watch and friends I don't see enough of. But when I look back on 2012, will it be considered a success? I'm not ready to think like that yet, I'm going to do a few more things just in case before assessing it.
There's some nice little projects - the music we recorded with Alister, Steve and Clare for the Christmas story album sounds great, and this weekend I'm going to finish the actual story words to go with it, and then we can get recording and releasing and it'll all be lovely. A story/music album can really go either way, but I think this should end up modestly beautiful, which is what we all strive for, yeah? And we need to re-record last year's Christmas audio offering, 'The 12 Monologues Of Christmas' using a proper microphone, not the mp3 recorder I purchased off my mate Bryan for a fiver. Doing a lot of stuff under the Fat Fox Productions tag now - Fat Fox is awesome, it's the production company I've formed with Izzy, and it's so nice to be working with somebody who is completely on the same page as me, somebody who is not only a wonderful actress but also a great editor of my work to cut out all the crap bits (let's face it, I do go on a bit) and perhaps most amazingly; somebody who, after knowing me for over a year now, isn't that annoyed by my scatterbrain, messy and confusing ways. And she's wicked at spreadsheets. We've got Fat Fox t-shirts, and business cards and everything, and next year's Edinburgh show is already being plotted. Before that though we have our radio sitcom, 'Technically Single' being recorded for a podcast series, 6 x 20 minute episodes ending on a Christmas special - I'm really proud of the pilot/first episode, which is why I'm being so careful writing the other five instalments...although they all need to be written within the next couple of weeks. And we've got our two Christmas shows too, both on the same bill for a four night run at Christmas, and our regular new material nights (the first one of which didn't happen because of the venue being double booked, but that's cool - it just means I have more new material for the next one). And then there's the, well, the slightly strange project...
At the end of a complicated few days, in which I got my wallet 'stolen' (okay, I dropped it outside a supermarket but it was gone a couple hours later) and then went momentarily anxious about something that shouldn't really be explained on this blog, I've somehow ended up touring a solo show called, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards'. Look, just don't ask, okay? And besides, it's not completely solo, the lovely Claudia McKenzie (joining me on the road for these performances) has some lines in there, just not that many. It features two plays, 'The Wallet' and 'Man Versus Ants', I wrote them both last week on my week off work for writing time. I really feel 'The Wallet' is the strongest piece I've written in a long while, years perhaps, and 'Man Versus Ants' is completely heartbreaking if we get the timing right with the song at the end. Izzy is directing, and Chris from Distant Cloud has taken some wonderful promo pictures. It's a very wordy show, I'm a very wordy man. I've got a lot of words to learn. Tour opens on 7th November.
Inspiration is good, isn't it? Went to a really lovely classical/world music/folk concert thing on Saturday with Heather and on stage was Nicky and Gav from the Dowsing For Sound band - the music they were making was just lovely. And then last night, although still as snotty as anything, I went with Heather, Kevin and Elisa to see Piff The Magic Dragon in Bury St Edmunds. Piff was my favourite show at the fringe, and last night it was just as enjoyable - it's such a great act, a glorious mix of comedy, magic, Chihuahuas...everyone deserves to see Piff, he deserves a bigger audience. Pappy's are coming to Cambridge soon, and I'm off to see Ben Folds Five next month, ever get the feeling there's so much creative brilliance in the world you can't keep up? I need to keep on writing, keep on getting my work out there (my work is starting to be performed all over the world these days thanks to a couple indie publishing deals), need to finally get my debut novel out there (both people who I've sent it to to proof read haven't actually looked at it yet/hate it so much they can't work out how to tell me), and need to be drumming more...
Talking of which, some nice gigs coming up with Flaming June - a little run of charity shows for Oxjam (all in aid of Oxfam) in Cambridge, Bedford and Bury, some Christmassy shows with Trevor Jones (note we're not called 'The Trevor Jones Band' these days due to a contractual thingy) and the British IBM continues to be the subject of some wonderful media coverage (everywhere from Retro Gamer magazine to a review in The Sunday Sport) - we've got a few gigs left this year, all out of town, I like that a lot, I like to stretch my musical legs and play in new places. And there's talk of a very special Christmassy project too, but I can't say anything just yet, not because I'm all secretive and trying to big something up that you probably don't care about, but because I've been asked to keep it quiet until things are confirmed and besides, I was only asked yesterday, it shall be awesome though.
So looks like there's enough to keep me going for the rest of the year and I shall endeavour to report back if anything interesting comes of this. Or, if like tonight, I've got a cold and I'm killing time before the good programmes kick in on BBC3 at 11pm.
Currently reading: The Last Party (by John Harris), just finished reading Where Do Comedians Go When They Die? (by Milton Jones)
Currently watching: Cuckoo, Family Guy, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Match Of The Day
Currently listening to: Ben Folds Five - The Sound Of The Life And Mind, Straylight Run - The Needles The Space, Guillemots - Hello Land
Currently eating: the unpredictable results of my attempts at cooking
And besides, I've not updated this properly for a while now, so I was a due a ramble. It feels like it's been a strange couple of weeks, I think I'm still on a post-tour-post-fringe-post-Lodestar comedown and for a brief while I was a bit concerned about not being busy. You know that fear - suddenly it's October and there really isn't time to do much else before Christmas so you might as well write the year off and think about plans for the next 12 months instead? Well that's probably why I've suddenly over-committed myself. I don't fear time off from stuff, I've got so many books I need to read, films to watch and friends I don't see enough of. But when I look back on 2012, will it be considered a success? I'm not ready to think like that yet, I'm going to do a few more things just in case before assessing it.
There's some nice little projects - the music we recorded with Alister, Steve and Clare for the Christmas story album sounds great, and this weekend I'm going to finish the actual story words to go with it, and then we can get recording and releasing and it'll all be lovely. A story/music album can really go either way, but I think this should end up modestly beautiful, which is what we all strive for, yeah? And we need to re-record last year's Christmas audio offering, 'The 12 Monologues Of Christmas' using a proper microphone, not the mp3 recorder I purchased off my mate Bryan for a fiver. Doing a lot of stuff under the Fat Fox Productions tag now - Fat Fox is awesome, it's the production company I've formed with Izzy, and it's so nice to be working with somebody who is completely on the same page as me, somebody who is not only a wonderful actress but also a great editor of my work to cut out all the crap bits (let's face it, I do go on a bit) and perhaps most amazingly; somebody who, after knowing me for over a year now, isn't that annoyed by my scatterbrain, messy and confusing ways. And she's wicked at spreadsheets. We've got Fat Fox t-shirts, and business cards and everything, and next year's Edinburgh show is already being plotted. Before that though we have our radio sitcom, 'Technically Single' being recorded for a podcast series, 6 x 20 minute episodes ending on a Christmas special - I'm really proud of the pilot/first episode, which is why I'm being so careful writing the other five instalments...although they all need to be written within the next couple of weeks. And we've got our two Christmas shows too, both on the same bill for a four night run at Christmas, and our regular new material nights (the first one of which didn't happen because of the venue being double booked, but that's cool - it just means I have more new material for the next one). And then there's the, well, the slightly strange project...
At the end of a complicated few days, in which I got my wallet 'stolen' (okay, I dropped it outside a supermarket but it was gone a couple hours later) and then went momentarily anxious about something that shouldn't really be explained on this blog, I've somehow ended up touring a solo show called, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards'. Look, just don't ask, okay? And besides, it's not completely solo, the lovely Claudia McKenzie (joining me on the road for these performances) has some lines in there, just not that many. It features two plays, 'The Wallet' and 'Man Versus Ants', I wrote them both last week on my week off work for writing time. I really feel 'The Wallet' is the strongest piece I've written in a long while, years perhaps, and 'Man Versus Ants' is completely heartbreaking if we get the timing right with the song at the end. Izzy is directing, and Chris from Distant Cloud has taken some wonderful promo pictures. It's a very wordy show, I'm a very wordy man. I've got a lot of words to learn. Tour opens on 7th November.
Inspiration is good, isn't it? Went to a really lovely classical/world music/folk concert thing on Saturday with Heather and on stage was Nicky and Gav from the Dowsing For Sound band - the music they were making was just lovely. And then last night, although still as snotty as anything, I went with Heather, Kevin and Elisa to see Piff The Magic Dragon in Bury St Edmunds. Piff was my favourite show at the fringe, and last night it was just as enjoyable - it's such a great act, a glorious mix of comedy, magic, Chihuahuas...everyone deserves to see Piff, he deserves a bigger audience. Pappy's are coming to Cambridge soon, and I'm off to see Ben Folds Five next month, ever get the feeling there's so much creative brilliance in the world you can't keep up? I need to keep on writing, keep on getting my work out there (my work is starting to be performed all over the world these days thanks to a couple indie publishing deals), need to finally get my debut novel out there (both people who I've sent it to to proof read haven't actually looked at it yet/hate it so much they can't work out how to tell me), and need to be drumming more...
Talking of which, some nice gigs coming up with Flaming June - a little run of charity shows for Oxjam (all in aid of Oxfam) in Cambridge, Bedford and Bury, some Christmassy shows with Trevor Jones (note we're not called 'The Trevor Jones Band' these days due to a contractual thingy) and the British IBM continues to be the subject of some wonderful media coverage (everywhere from Retro Gamer magazine to a review in The Sunday Sport) - we've got a few gigs left this year, all out of town, I like that a lot, I like to stretch my musical legs and play in new places. And there's talk of a very special Christmassy project too, but I can't say anything just yet, not because I'm all secretive and trying to big something up that you probably don't care about, but because I've been asked to keep it quiet until things are confirmed and besides, I was only asked yesterday, it shall be awesome though.
So looks like there's enough to keep me going for the rest of the year and I shall endeavour to report back if anything interesting comes of this. Or, if like tonight, I've got a cold and I'm killing time before the good programmes kick in on BBC3 at 11pm.
Currently reading: The Last Party (by John Harris), just finished reading Where Do Comedians Go When They Die? (by Milton Jones)
Currently watching: Cuckoo, Family Guy, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Match Of The Day
Currently listening to: Ben Folds Five - The Sound Of The Life And Mind, Straylight Run - The Needles The Space, Guillemots - Hello Land
Currently eating: the unpredictable results of my attempts at cooking
Sunday 23 September 2012
Gig report: The British IBM @ The Hope & Anchor, London
Band: The British IBM
Venue: Hope And Anchor, London
Date: 23/09/12
Audience: Friendly
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Animal, Sugar Water, The British IBM, Cannibal, 3 Years, Washing Machine
Notes: We've been reluctant to play London recently, preferring instead to play in other cities/towns in the country where we could make more of a mark, but the chance to headline this prestigious venue was too good to turn down. Great performance space, nice house kit to play on, good sound on and off the stage, managed to get the train in from the small village I live in and meet the guys at Kings Cross - it was such an easy gig to do. That was possibly the reason why we were just a little bit slack - some good friends were there (Rob, Matt, Izzy, James) so a little alcohol indulgence was in order, and we all came off stage knowing that we hadn't really played that well. The thing is, as I've said before, we know we're a really strong band - we've been gigging a while now with two tours and we're very rehearsed, so even when we're not quite hitting our full stride we put on a good show and those who were there to watch us really seemed to love it. I just know how good we can be, if my memory serves me correctly I dropped three beats in the whole gig - but that's three beats more than I should have dropped, it's just good enough. Apart from our actual slightly ramshackle performance it was a really nice evening though.
Venue: Hope And Anchor, London
Date: 23/09/12
Audience: Friendly
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Animal, Sugar Water, The British IBM, Cannibal, 3 Years, Washing Machine
Notes: We've been reluctant to play London recently, preferring instead to play in other cities/towns in the country where we could make more of a mark, but the chance to headline this prestigious venue was too good to turn down. Great performance space, nice house kit to play on, good sound on and off the stage, managed to get the train in from the small village I live in and meet the guys at Kings Cross - it was such an easy gig to do. That was possibly the reason why we were just a little bit slack - some good friends were there (Rob, Matt, Izzy, James) so a little alcohol indulgence was in order, and we all came off stage knowing that we hadn't really played that well. The thing is, as I've said before, we know we're a really strong band - we've been gigging a while now with two tours and we're very rehearsed, so even when we're not quite hitting our full stride we put on a good show and those who were there to watch us really seemed to love it. I just know how good we can be, if my memory serves me correctly I dropped three beats in the whole gig - but that's three beats more than I should have dropped, it's just good enough. Apart from our actual slightly ramshackle performance it was a really nice evening though.
Tuesday 18 September 2012
Gig report: Trevor Jones @ Black Bull Festival, Godmanchester
Band: Trevor Jones
Venue: The Black Bull Festival, Godmanchester
Date: 15/09/12
Audience: Drunk, brilliant
Set: Not sure of the order - usual set with the omission of Solid Ground
Notes: This was a really brilliant gig - and even more so because on arrival they looked like the kind of audience who wouldn't like us. The festival, held at our regular venue of The Black Bull, had been on since 1pm, so by the time we went on - 8.20pm, a majority of the audience were hammered. Although there were plenty of acoustic acts on the bill, a lot of the bands on our stage - the electric stage, were of a heavier rock vibe, and somehow I just felt our acoustic-led pop would unsettle the audience. I was proved wrong though as they got into it from the start, and as a trio (Trev, Tony and myself) we really got into it, more so than we have done in ages, can't work out why - sometimes an audience like that just helps things. The sound on and off stage was great, the kit was lovely to play and I really hit my stride, it was just a really fantastic little gig to play and Allan's Promotions deserve credit for running it so well. We've been in the studio for the last couple of nights recording and haven't quite hit that level of performance again I feel, but the sessions continue again soon and I've got a sneaky, and slightly arrogant, feeling that we will.
Venue: The Black Bull Festival, Godmanchester
Date: 15/09/12
Audience: Drunk, brilliant
Set: Not sure of the order - usual set with the omission of Solid Ground
Notes: This was a really brilliant gig - and even more so because on arrival they looked like the kind of audience who wouldn't like us. The festival, held at our regular venue of The Black Bull, had been on since 1pm, so by the time we went on - 8.20pm, a majority of the audience were hammered. Although there were plenty of acoustic acts on the bill, a lot of the bands on our stage - the electric stage, were of a heavier rock vibe, and somehow I just felt our acoustic-led pop would unsettle the audience. I was proved wrong though as they got into it from the start, and as a trio (Trev, Tony and myself) we really got into it, more so than we have done in ages, can't work out why - sometimes an audience like that just helps things. The sound on and off stage was great, the kit was lovely to play and I really hit my stride, it was just a really fantastic little gig to play and Allan's Promotions deserve credit for running it so well. We've been in the studio for the last couple of nights recording and haven't quite hit that level of performance again I feel, but the sessions continue again soon and I've got a sneaky, and slightly arrogant, feeling that we will.
Wednesday 12 September 2012
Recording times
After a summer of dashing about everywhere it feels really good to be drumming in the studio again. See, as much as I love the thrill of live work (as a musician, writer, actor) there's always a sad sense that when it's done, it's done - with no or very little record of it. Now though I enter a few months where I'll be on stage less and recording more - and as a writer we (Izzy and myself) will be focusing more on radio projects. A good recording can go a long way - I'm really proud to be on the British IBM album - my dad believes it's the best thing I've ever been on and my dad is always right, yet that was one of the very few studio sessions I've done this year, unlike 2011 when I was seemingly in the studio all the time.
This weekend we recorded the backing music for a Christmas album I'm devising. Can't go into too many details about the concept of the project (for many reasons, the main one being I haven't finished writing it yet and it's likely to change a million times before I feel comfortable), but it is effectively a theatre/music crossover (but not a musical), utilising some classic Christmas tunes nicely rearranged as the backing track to the drama. For this I called upon a few good friends who also happen to be outstanding musicians; Alister Bunclark, Clare Calder and Steve Calder, and, aided by Una the enthusiastic puppy, we recorded the music in one fairly lengthy, live session. Alister, Clare and Steve really are brilliant musicians - and so versatile too, and on the record we have piano, double bass, strings, flute, saxophone alongside my percussion...I don't think 'Jingle Bells' has ever sounded so worldly. Felt slightly strange recording Christmas songs in early September, but it also felt bloody good.
A couple days later I was back in the studio recording with Louise and producer Rob for the new Flaming June EP. This one really is a quite dramatic leap (in places) from the last EP, but I now get why Louise has done this - the last EP was very successful and even won an award but why replicate it? It's sounding brilliant (quite a lot has been done already), the folk roots are still very much there but it just feels more electric (whilst remaining largely acoustic), it's sounding big already. On top of the congas I've added a bass drum, snare, hi-hat and ride cymbal - so yep, a full kit, but all recorded separately as each one is being treated as an individual percussional sound in the mix. I think this EP will be a while yet as everything is being done carefully, but it will really be worth the wait.
Next week work continues on the Trevor Jones album back at Half Ton with the most patient engineer on the planet, Matty Moon, and there's also the new Eureka Stockade album in the pipeline - Rob and Andy have 16 new songs, and at some point I'll be in to drum all over them, marvellous stuff.
Anyway, best get back to trying to learn how to cook. Since coming back from the fringe I feel refreshed and looking forward to some new creative challenges, with a new website, the launch of the new theatre company (Fat Fox) with Izzy which will be amazing, finally getting my novel out there, some new plays, some new recordings and yep, going to try and cook too. That's the bit I'm really struggling with to be honest, but we all knew that was going to be the case, yes?
This weekend we recorded the backing music for a Christmas album I'm devising. Can't go into too many details about the concept of the project (for many reasons, the main one being I haven't finished writing it yet and it's likely to change a million times before I feel comfortable), but it is effectively a theatre/music crossover (but not a musical), utilising some classic Christmas tunes nicely rearranged as the backing track to the drama. For this I called upon a few good friends who also happen to be outstanding musicians; Alister Bunclark, Clare Calder and Steve Calder, and, aided by Una the enthusiastic puppy, we recorded the music in one fairly lengthy, live session. Alister, Clare and Steve really are brilliant musicians - and so versatile too, and on the record we have piano, double bass, strings, flute, saxophone alongside my percussion...I don't think 'Jingle Bells' has ever sounded so worldly. Felt slightly strange recording Christmas songs in early September, but it also felt bloody good.
A couple days later I was back in the studio recording with Louise and producer Rob for the new Flaming June EP. This one really is a quite dramatic leap (in places) from the last EP, but I now get why Louise has done this - the last EP was very successful and even won an award but why replicate it? It's sounding brilliant (quite a lot has been done already), the folk roots are still very much there but it just feels more electric (whilst remaining largely acoustic), it's sounding big already. On top of the congas I've added a bass drum, snare, hi-hat and ride cymbal - so yep, a full kit, but all recorded separately as each one is being treated as an individual percussional sound in the mix. I think this EP will be a while yet as everything is being done carefully, but it will really be worth the wait.
Next week work continues on the Trevor Jones album back at Half Ton with the most patient engineer on the planet, Matty Moon, and there's also the new Eureka Stockade album in the pipeline - Rob and Andy have 16 new songs, and at some point I'll be in to drum all over them, marvellous stuff.
Anyway, best get back to trying to learn how to cook. Since coming back from the fringe I feel refreshed and looking forward to some new creative challenges, with a new website, the launch of the new theatre company (Fat Fox) with Izzy which will be amazing, finally getting my novel out there, some new plays, some new recordings and yep, going to try and cook too. That's the bit I'm really struggling with to be honest, but we all knew that was going to be the case, yes?
Tuesday 11 September 2012
Gig report: Jon Orchard @ The Royal Oak, St Ives
Band:
Jon Orchard (acoustic duo)
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 09/09/12
Audience: Lively
Set: Lots of covers
Notes: A nice if rare gig with Mr Orchard. Sunday night gigs are always a tricky one - half of the audience are there for a quiet drink to conclude the weekend, the other half are getting hammered to try and forget about the impending Monday. Either way, everyone seemed to enjoy it - mostly thanks to Jon's choice of songs, he has a repertoire that consists of real crowd pleasers and from a percussionists point of a view it was a pretty easy gig to play musically. Hard work at times though because it was such a long show, but when you're playing good songs, with a good fellow musician, in front of a lively crowd the time just flies by.
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 09/09/12
Audience: Lively
Set: Lots of covers
Notes: A nice if rare gig with Mr Orchard. Sunday night gigs are always a tricky one - half of the audience are there for a quiet drink to conclude the weekend, the other half are getting hammered to try and forget about the impending Monday. Either way, everyone seemed to enjoy it - mostly thanks to Jon's choice of songs, he has a repertoire that consists of real crowd pleasers and from a percussionists point of a view it was a pretty easy gig to play musically. Hard work at times though because it was such a long show, but when you're playing good songs, with a good fellow musician, in front of a lively crowd the time just flies by.
Sunday 2 September 2012
Lodestar Festival 2012
The Lodestar Festival is awesome - it's a growing music festival just outside of Cambridge that I have the privilege of being the Director Of Theatre for. I'm not long back from spending the whole of my weekend at this year's event and once again I'm just amazed by how lovely the whole festival is, so incredibly friendly. This is my third year with Lodestar and in short my role is to book the comedy/theatre acts for the second stage - I'd like to think that every year our line-up is getting just a little bit better and although I was honestly worried about how this one would work out it really did, brilliantly. My fears were that we had to re-schedule a couple of the acts at really short notice, such short notice that programmes had been printed already with the wrong information (it's a festival - it's bound to happen sometimes with this many acts), but there were no worries really at the end of the day - we put plenty of acts on, people walked in to our tent and enjoyed them. The tent this year was a circus style big-top tent and was absolutely perfect - a good distance from the main stage so no chance of being drowned out by the bands, and undercover so no chance of being drowned in the rain.
Alongside booking the non-music stuff, two of my own pieces were performed; There's Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Oscar Pike on the Saturday, and You Don't Miss Your Water today - Sunday. This has always been scheduled as the final performance of this Oscar show - having started our little adventure a couple months back in Bristol before Cambridge (twice), London and of course the Edinburgh Fringe, it's a show that really has developed nicely along the way. Saturday felt like a challenge at first - due to the size of the stage (huge), the distance between us and the audience, and due to both of these things the fact that we had to do the show with radio mics so we would be heard. That's a first for me as a performer, and it took a couple minutes to adjust, but we soon settled into it. In a strange kind of way it felt like an important performance - there was a pretty big crowd there to watch us, bigger than any of the previous showings, yet we hadn't rehearsed since the fringe. But we know this show inside out now and if anything it was one of our most comfortable performances yet, even if (in the final scene where I knock the 'David' picture over) I did smash the photo frame with glass everywhere, that almost felt like a spectacular conclusion to this production. Izzy and Grace were both fantastic - they seemed relaxed enough pretty much straight from the start. Waiting before the show, in character (ie; in my pyjamas) I looked at the audience and there was a real sense of expectation in the air, I found out later on our play was announced on the main stage by the lovely people at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire who recommended us, hence why we suddenly had a big turnout. As I was pacing about around the back, people in the audience could see us and a couple even took pictures; difficult to explain but for the first time I actually felt like a 'proper' performer, this was a 'proper' act, that people wanted to see. I got a buzz out of that. I don't think there can be any more Oscar Pike shows though unless I suddenly get a big idea, feels like I've done all I can with this character. Either way, it went down well, and quite a few strangers (including a random bunch of girls who approached me later in the evening at the festival) praised the quality of the piece. A good day for my ego.
Today we debuted a comedy musical I had written as a vehicle for Bristol-based blues band, The Outlines. This has been on the cards for a while now, The Outlines were keen to play the festival so I suggested that I write a script to go alongside their awesome tunes and we can make a proper theatre show out of it. I only know one Outline - the legendary Matt Corrall, but the whole band went along with this idea. I then kind of ran out of time when it came to writing the script, and although the format and structure had been knocking about in my head for a couple weeks I didn't finish writing the thing until the early hours of Thursday morning. It took 6 hours to write...it shouldn't have worked really, but 'You Don't Miss Your Water' really did. A majority of the cast, and the band, only saw the script for the first time yesterday morning, that was how tight we were cutting things...we had a slightly worrying run-through on a patch of field before Oscar Pike, and then this morning did the same thing again, with most of us having hangovers. The rehearsals - well, I think 'rehearsals' is probably an exaggeration, these were just a chance to get vaguely familiar with the script, were worrying. So why did it work in the performance? Simple really; The Outlines are a brilliant - and more importantly, likable, band that have songs that work so well in this medium, and we had a cracking cast of Izzy, Abi, Alan, Vaughan and Kevin, who were just so open to the 'anything can happen' nature of this show, a joy to work with. There were glimmers of really, really perfect moments in the production, mostly thanks to Vaughan's slightly erratic dancing, and none of which were apparent in the rehearsal, and the band were super-tight, that was apparent in the rehearsal. Yeah, it was thrown together at short notice and could have looked that way to some of the audience, but with a lot of enthusiasm and charm that made me proud. And I have to admit, considering it only took 6 hours to write, I was rather happy with the script - it's as cheesy as anything, but with some nice lines and serves it's purpose perfectly. But in lesser hands it wouldn't have worked - with The Outlines and that cast it did, but then again if you put that much talent on one stage you can't really fail, can you?
Not that it was all about us/me of course; our stage was littered with treats. Helen Arney, in particular - I know she's a mate so I'm biased, but she was outstanding on Saturday, playing at midday it could have gone either way but she played a truely delightful set and the audience lapped it up. Other great stuff - Custard Comedy (a really fine range of new comedians), Rosie Wilby, The Cambridge Improv Factory, The Gamlingay Players. We also caught a bit of Bob Geldof's headline set on the main stage, and watched some burlesque which made me feel all awkward.
Over the years I've started to go off music festivals, big and small, mostly because they're hard work sometimes - they get overcrowded, rowdy, uncomfortable. But Lodestar is different - it is without question the nicest festival in the country, with really good quality acts (gutted that due to my comittments I couldn't really catch much of the music on the main stage but whenever I did pass it looked wonderful, The Go Team on Friday night were outstanding), and all the simple things we forget about like reasonably priced beer and plenty of different food options. It's a festival where you can stretch out a bit, it's on a really attractive site and it's run by geniuene, honest people. And selfishly, it's a great creative outlet for me too - Doug the director gives me a lot of freedom to book the acts I want and to put on my own work, and I'm grateful for this. I'm also knackered though as it kicks into life four days after the Edinburgh Fringe, and tonight - our final night - we chickened out and left at 6pm, my brain is frazzled from a manic couple of weeks and I admit - I've run out of steam. My friends are as nice as the festival by the way, whilst I've been running around worrying about the acts they do great things like set up my tent for me, and even take it down, it's almost like they know I'm not a typical outdoor type.
I think I'm happy right now, I'm knackered but when I wake up a bit I think I'll realise I am happy - it's been a good couple of months what with the musical, the tour, the fringe, the festival. It's weird not suddenly having to dash about somewhere, my inbox is cleared for the first time this year. Time for new projects, I have many ideas both theatrically and musically, and many ideas of who I want to do them with. And Christmas seems to be creeping up on us too...this quiet period won't last for long, phew!
Alongside booking the non-music stuff, two of my own pieces were performed; There's Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Oscar Pike on the Saturday, and You Don't Miss Your Water today - Sunday. This has always been scheduled as the final performance of this Oscar show - having started our little adventure a couple months back in Bristol before Cambridge (twice), London and of course the Edinburgh Fringe, it's a show that really has developed nicely along the way. Saturday felt like a challenge at first - due to the size of the stage (huge), the distance between us and the audience, and due to both of these things the fact that we had to do the show with radio mics so we would be heard. That's a first for me as a performer, and it took a couple minutes to adjust, but we soon settled into it. In a strange kind of way it felt like an important performance - there was a pretty big crowd there to watch us, bigger than any of the previous showings, yet we hadn't rehearsed since the fringe. But we know this show inside out now and if anything it was one of our most comfortable performances yet, even if (in the final scene where I knock the 'David' picture over) I did smash the photo frame with glass everywhere, that almost felt like a spectacular conclusion to this production. Izzy and Grace were both fantastic - they seemed relaxed enough pretty much straight from the start. Waiting before the show, in character (ie; in my pyjamas) I looked at the audience and there was a real sense of expectation in the air, I found out later on our play was announced on the main stage by the lovely people at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire who recommended us, hence why we suddenly had a big turnout. As I was pacing about around the back, people in the audience could see us and a couple even took pictures; difficult to explain but for the first time I actually felt like a 'proper' performer, this was a 'proper' act, that people wanted to see. I got a buzz out of that. I don't think there can be any more Oscar Pike shows though unless I suddenly get a big idea, feels like I've done all I can with this character. Either way, it went down well, and quite a few strangers (including a random bunch of girls who approached me later in the evening at the festival) praised the quality of the piece. A good day for my ego.
Today we debuted a comedy musical I had written as a vehicle for Bristol-based blues band, The Outlines. This has been on the cards for a while now, The Outlines were keen to play the festival so I suggested that I write a script to go alongside their awesome tunes and we can make a proper theatre show out of it. I only know one Outline - the legendary Matt Corrall, but the whole band went along with this idea. I then kind of ran out of time when it came to writing the script, and although the format and structure had been knocking about in my head for a couple weeks I didn't finish writing the thing until the early hours of Thursday morning. It took 6 hours to write...it shouldn't have worked really, but 'You Don't Miss Your Water' really did. A majority of the cast, and the band, only saw the script for the first time yesterday morning, that was how tight we were cutting things...we had a slightly worrying run-through on a patch of field before Oscar Pike, and then this morning did the same thing again, with most of us having hangovers. The rehearsals - well, I think 'rehearsals' is probably an exaggeration, these were just a chance to get vaguely familiar with the script, were worrying. So why did it work in the performance? Simple really; The Outlines are a brilliant - and more importantly, likable, band that have songs that work so well in this medium, and we had a cracking cast of Izzy, Abi, Alan, Vaughan and Kevin, who were just so open to the 'anything can happen' nature of this show, a joy to work with. There were glimmers of really, really perfect moments in the production, mostly thanks to Vaughan's slightly erratic dancing, and none of which were apparent in the rehearsal, and the band were super-tight, that was apparent in the rehearsal. Yeah, it was thrown together at short notice and could have looked that way to some of the audience, but with a lot of enthusiasm and charm that made me proud. And I have to admit, considering it only took 6 hours to write, I was rather happy with the script - it's as cheesy as anything, but with some nice lines and serves it's purpose perfectly. But in lesser hands it wouldn't have worked - with The Outlines and that cast it did, but then again if you put that much talent on one stage you can't really fail, can you?
Not that it was all about us/me of course; our stage was littered with treats. Helen Arney, in particular - I know she's a mate so I'm biased, but she was outstanding on Saturday, playing at midday it could have gone either way but she played a truely delightful set and the audience lapped it up. Other great stuff - Custard Comedy (a really fine range of new comedians), Rosie Wilby, The Cambridge Improv Factory, The Gamlingay Players. We also caught a bit of Bob Geldof's headline set on the main stage, and watched some burlesque which made me feel all awkward.
Over the years I've started to go off music festivals, big and small, mostly because they're hard work sometimes - they get overcrowded, rowdy, uncomfortable. But Lodestar is different - it is without question the nicest festival in the country, with really good quality acts (gutted that due to my comittments I couldn't really catch much of the music on the main stage but whenever I did pass it looked wonderful, The Go Team on Friday night were outstanding), and all the simple things we forget about like reasonably priced beer and plenty of different food options. It's a festival where you can stretch out a bit, it's on a really attractive site and it's run by geniuene, honest people. And selfishly, it's a great creative outlet for me too - Doug the director gives me a lot of freedom to book the acts I want and to put on my own work, and I'm grateful for this. I'm also knackered though as it kicks into life four days after the Edinburgh Fringe, and tonight - our final night - we chickened out and left at 6pm, my brain is frazzled from a manic couple of weeks and I admit - I've run out of steam. My friends are as nice as the festival by the way, whilst I've been running around worrying about the acts they do great things like set up my tent for me, and even take it down, it's almost like they know I'm not a typical outdoor type.
I think I'm happy right now, I'm knackered but when I wake up a bit I think I'll realise I am happy - it's been a good couple of months what with the musical, the tour, the fringe, the festival. It's weird not suddenly having to dash about somewhere, my inbox is cleared for the first time this year. Time for new projects, I have many ideas both theatrically and musically, and many ideas of who I want to do them with. And Christmas seems to be creeping up on us too...this quiet period won't last for long, phew!
Tuesday 28 August 2012
Edinburgh Fringe 2012
Well...where do I start? I've not long woken up from a 14 hour sleep, I didn't think I had the ability to do that, but the Edinburgh Fringe has done that to me. In a good way. We were only up there for eight days, but the fringe is a special place - as an audience member it's probably the only place to be in August, the festival itself is the greatest show on earth and within it contains lots of other little greatest shows on earth. As a performer/writer/anybody part of a show, it is all of those things with an added emotional rollercoaster of magical moments and periods of great frustration, all concluding in a week which you weren't quite sure worked for you or not but can't wait to do again.
Arriving in cloudy Edinburgh on Sunday morning (Izzy and myself stayed in a Travel Lodge in Newcastle the night before to make the long drive slightly more comfortable, Grace and Michelle travelled separately by train) we checked into our lovely, if small, accommodation and headed over to our venue. I really like Sweet Venues, they are under different management now to when I was last with them (with a show called The Knowledge Of Beauty all of those years ago...I feel old) and it has a more of a family vibe to it all now, JD the boss is a very organised and friendly chap who made us feel very welcome, and the spaces themselves are a joy to perform in - perfect size, with comfortable seating for the audience, the sound quality is good, the stage size offers enough space to perform the pieces as intended whilst still feeling intimate. I'm by no means an experienced performer, but I felt instantly at home on that stage. We went for late drinks to catch up with friends, most of whom who are involved in other shows, then I got a bit touchy and snappy because I wanted to go home and sleep before an early morning tech on the Monday and it was getting late. Izzy and Michelle found me acting touchy rather funny, as they've never seen touchy Paul before. I wasn't functioning properly the next morning, having a tech at 9am having slept quite badly on the floor in the flat the night before didn't put me in the best of mindsets but it went smoothly enough and I was fine after a Red Bull and packet of Monster Munch. The Greatest Goal tech, which was just after, served as a dress rehearsal for Grace too, but looked great. A couple hours later, Greatest Goal premiered in front of a modest audience, but went down well, wasn't aware that Grace was going to do this in a Welsh accent (I hadn't been at the rehearsals and Michelle (the director) and her decided on this) and it was brilliant, injected more charm into the whole of the second half of the show. After briefly flyering the Royal Mile in my pyjamas (the fringe is probably the only place where you can go out into the streets dressed in your jim-jams and nobody bats and eyelid) it was the first Edinburgh performance of the new Oscar Pike show. We had friends in, my sister and her boyfriend were in, the press were in...whilst by far not the tightest it's been, it had plenty of energy and no major cock-ups, people laughed when they were supposed to, we were happy enough so got drunk to celebrate this fact.
There has been much said in the media about the demise of the fringe this year. Okay, demise is a bit strong, but it's struggled a bit. Numbers have been down, even established acts like Richard Herring haven't been selling out, which is unthinkable. As usual there are a couple of 'buzz' acts that you can't get tickets for no matter how hard you've tried - David Trent (a friend of mine), Pappy's, Daniel Kitson - but quite a few of the bigger acts were suffering a bit for audiences. Many have theories on why this is - somebody said to me at the end of run party on Sunday evening that it was because the fringe relies a lot on international visitors and, because of the Olympics, flights into the UK were so much more expensive so that put them off. A few people believe it's simply because it's been a busy summer for Great Britian - all the sport, how much money, and leave, and energy do people have? Alan our soundman extraordinaire believes it's deeper than a one-year blip and that the model of the whole fringe is changing, and going back to basics. With about 40% of the fringe being free, why would people pay to see a show? There really is much to be said either way about that, he has a point though - there's still a recession, people don't have money at the end of the day.
It was clear very early on that both of our shows were going to struggle, because, probably of all of the reasons above combined, but also because (as Izzy pointed out) we didn't really have a marketing strategy. No 'really' about it, really. Gone are the days when flyering with a little charm on the Royal Mile was enough to convince people to come to your shows. The flyering didn't work at all this year - maybe I'm just not charming any more. Felt like we were the only people without a review on our flyers because we didn't have one to put on there (the danger of only doing a limited run, and also because we didn't get any reviewers in to the previews because we were so unsure about the quality of production at the time so didn't invite any press). We had three reviewers in for Oscar Pike during the week - the one that came on the first performance (he laughed a lot and I'm confident about this one - review hasn't emerged anywhere yet though), one that came on the second performance which was a TERRIBLE DAY where the reviewer was one of only two people in the audience (the other being our friend Mary who had already seen the show in Cambridge but still found it in her to laugh at the same jokes again, top lady) and it was the worst we've ever performed the play - we had been working so hard to flyer and get the numbers up that we were knackered before the play even started...also, it's really hard to say monologues to the audience about 'the lady league' and other blokey things when the audience is made up of two women - at one point I said a whole monologue to an empty chair. Annoyingly, that's the only review that has been published so far, it wasn't the nicest but said some nice-ish things about the piece - if I was a reviewer that day I would have ripped us apart. We also had a journalist in for the fourth performance, he laughed a lot and it was a good day, but again - nothing has been printed yet, maybe it'll be out there soon. One reviewer was scheduled for Greatest Goal, but never turned up, which was a shame because it was mid-run and Grace was really hitting her stride by then.
Wednesday felt like a new low for me as a fringe producer...that day's performance of Oscar Pike was cancelled because we hadn't sold a single ticket. And that was despite my meeting the night before with the lovely Lynne - marketing manager at Sweet, who let me invent any offer I wanted to get people in. That day we decided to go half price and flyered our amazing offer like crazy, but nothing. Greatest Goal did go ahead earlier that day to three people, all of whom loved it, but for Oscar - nothing. The most painful thing about this is knowing that you've not sold any tickets but having to put up the set and be in costume just in case somebody decides to turn up at the last minute. They didn't, so I'm sat in an empty venue, in my pyjamas, feeling like a loser, being called "grumpy pants" by the others. I wanted to go back to the flat to sulk and watch TV, but the others wouldn't let me as it's Grace's birthday and besides - there wasn't a TV in the flat anyway. In six years at the fringe, this was a first. It won't happen again. I had cheered up later in the evening, we celebrated Grace's new age by seeing Piff The Magic Dragon (one the funniest things I have ever seen at the fringe - choking with laughter) and Andrew Lawrence, and drinking in the Pleasence courtyard until the early hours. We spent a lot of time in the Pleasence courtyard - it's my favourite place at the fringe, vibrant, colourful, lots of space, and a good place to spot the odd celebrity (one night we saw Simon Amstell, Tim Vine and Richard Bacon all loitering, and I got introduced to comedian Nick Helme by David Trent at the bar but foolishly didn't know who he was - the next morning Izzy was telling me what a fan of his she is and I felt a bit daft).
Thankfully the rest of the performances of Oscar did happen - in fact the next day we EIGHT people in, yeah, get us. That was because we had the show for sale in the Half Price Hut though I think. Greatest Goal ticked over nicely with small audiences but Grace knew exactly how to handle them completely, such a good actress. She deserved a bigger audience for her performance though, she deserved some kind of recognition for this, as does Michelle for directing it so well - monologues can be boring, they made them lovely and interesting to watch. In the penultimate performance of Oscar there was five people in, one of which was my ex-girlfriend. Awkward! It was pointed out to us by someone at the venue that everyone who came out of both shows during the week were smiling/still laughing, and looked like they had really enjoyed the productions. Not being arrogant or anything, but that's because these shows are good, a lot of time and care had gone into them. But as I've already touched on earlier in this post, having a good show isn't enough these days - but we'll learn from this. Our marketing strategy was flawed this year. Well, we didn't have one. Next year we'll have one. Did I just say we're doing another show next year? Hhhhmmm, let's have a think about this.
The final Oscar was beautifully surreal - twenty people in, quite a few of them children...Oscar isn't a kids show, it has the words 'fuck' and 'wanker' in it quite a lot. 'Fuck' was replaced by either strained facial expressions to express my frustration or 'sod' when it came to 'fuck off'. 'Wanker' was replaced by 'prat' - which apparently is the most hilarious word in the world if you're under 10. Ironically, Oscar Pike's fringe farewell went down a storm, maybe family-friendly is the way forward? Yeah, right! Got away with it anyway, and nice to end on a high, we needed to, what with an eight hour car drive home the next day. At the Sweet end of fringe party/awards ceremony, which was really lovely and so nice to chat and drink with other performers, we won an award: The Realism Award For Company Name Most Frequently Used In Real Life. Realism for our company name (Get A Real Job Productions) in what was a pretty surreal fringe.
You know, staying in that small flat, I'm amazed Izzy and Grace didn't kill me - I think I may have been difficult to work with last week, I was either ratty/grumpy when things weren't going to plan ("this pointless, I'm not doing the fringe again...") or over-enthusiastic ("if we flyer lots tomorrow we can sell out and be rich and famous...") but they didn't, which demonstrates what lovely people they are. And the late night lectures/advice (they were lectures) about how to find a new girlfriend were appreciated, even if it did feel like I was being told off a bit (a lot). They're both really lovely, as is Michelle, and Alan our soundman is a dude and friend who I need to drink beer with more often.
And beyond the stress and excitement of our own shows there was of course hundreds and hundreds of other shows to see, and we saw lots in between flyering/our own productions/drinking lots, Piff The Magic Dragon topped my favourites list for the year (you should go and see this show, wherever it is and wherever you are) with Tim Key a close second with 'Masterslut' - a great, surreal show that is difficult to explain but I can't wait to see it again in Cambridge soon. I somehow ended up playing second percussion for comedian Rob Deering during his show, and Dead Cat Bounce, Rom Com Con and The Beta Males were also really great. There was also a few stinkers, but it's just not nice to list them because there's every chance there's someone else somewhere like me blogging about the fringe and I wouldn't want them to mention our shows in such a light. But...there was one evening that was totally dreadful - it was a benefit night, and was supposed to have a selection of top comedians performing. Only one of them had turned up, and sat awkwardly in the little venue we watched him explain that he was stretching this out (there wasn't even a host), we wanted to like him and go along with it but the material wasn't working - he was trying so hard, but it just wasn't. As the evening progressed and no other act turned up he started to lose the plot, and eventually the whole audience (about twenty people) were forced onto the stage to see what it's like under the lights, not allowed to sit down until we laugh, and the second comedian (who had just turned up) had to start his act sat in the empty audience. Eventually, we were freed from this weird comedy hostage situation and 'allowed' to sit down, but the second comedian was as dreadful as the first and small group by small group of people everybody ran out. Outside it was like the fire bell had just gone off - the audience in hysterics (for the first time in about 40 minutes) about how bad that was, and relieved we had managed to escape that monstrosity. It kind of all adds to the fringe experience, I guess.
Although having a 'quiet' year, the Edinburgh Fringe is the most magical place on the planet, on arrival at the top of the Royal Mile all you have to do is look down at the thousands of people, whether they be potential audience members or more than likely performers desperately wanting to entertain you. Being entertained is one of life's treats, laughing is healthy and I did a lot of that last week. We made a couple mistakes at the fringe with the planning of our shows, but equally, in retrospect, we have every right to be very proud of ourselves. Good work, team.
So, what next? Well, it's Lodestar this weekend - the final hurrah for Greatest Goal and Oscar, and there I shall be premiering a new show I'm writing for fantastic blues band called The Outlines. I should have probably been working on the script rather than spending so much time on this blog post but hey - there's still time to do a good job of it. After that I'm straight into the studio to record a Christmas album with some lovely and talented people, and some gigs and stuff, some nice gigs coming up. I should really get my novel out there too, finally, now I've got my head around this whole Kindle thing (and the ultra-arty Cara Pedder is designing me a cover), and there's talk of a radio sitcom before the Christmas show. Lots of ideas, too many ideas, as always. Whatever they may be though there's nobody I would want to work more on them with than Izzy, okay so she snaps a bit when she hasn't eaten (as I discovered), but she's annoyingly talented, has got a genuine eye for what works and what doesn't as well as fast becoming one of my best friends in the whole world, great things can be achieved. I'm not sure if she agrees, but I'll give her a few weeks of space and then start sending scripts over.
Edinburgh Fringe 2012 - done. Stressfully. Edinburgh Fringe 2013? I've had time to think about it, of course we bloody will.
Arriving in cloudy Edinburgh on Sunday morning (Izzy and myself stayed in a Travel Lodge in Newcastle the night before to make the long drive slightly more comfortable, Grace and Michelle travelled separately by train) we checked into our lovely, if small, accommodation and headed over to our venue. I really like Sweet Venues, they are under different management now to when I was last with them (with a show called The Knowledge Of Beauty all of those years ago...I feel old) and it has a more of a family vibe to it all now, JD the boss is a very organised and friendly chap who made us feel very welcome, and the spaces themselves are a joy to perform in - perfect size, with comfortable seating for the audience, the sound quality is good, the stage size offers enough space to perform the pieces as intended whilst still feeling intimate. I'm by no means an experienced performer, but I felt instantly at home on that stage. We went for late drinks to catch up with friends, most of whom who are involved in other shows, then I got a bit touchy and snappy because I wanted to go home and sleep before an early morning tech on the Monday and it was getting late. Izzy and Michelle found me acting touchy rather funny, as they've never seen touchy Paul before. I wasn't functioning properly the next morning, having a tech at 9am having slept quite badly on the floor in the flat the night before didn't put me in the best of mindsets but it went smoothly enough and I was fine after a Red Bull and packet of Monster Munch. The Greatest Goal tech, which was just after, served as a dress rehearsal for Grace too, but looked great. A couple hours later, Greatest Goal premiered in front of a modest audience, but went down well, wasn't aware that Grace was going to do this in a Welsh accent (I hadn't been at the rehearsals and Michelle (the director) and her decided on this) and it was brilliant, injected more charm into the whole of the second half of the show. After briefly flyering the Royal Mile in my pyjamas (the fringe is probably the only place where you can go out into the streets dressed in your jim-jams and nobody bats and eyelid) it was the first Edinburgh performance of the new Oscar Pike show. We had friends in, my sister and her boyfriend were in, the press were in...whilst by far not the tightest it's been, it had plenty of energy and no major cock-ups, people laughed when they were supposed to, we were happy enough so got drunk to celebrate this fact.
There has been much said in the media about the demise of the fringe this year. Okay, demise is a bit strong, but it's struggled a bit. Numbers have been down, even established acts like Richard Herring haven't been selling out, which is unthinkable. As usual there are a couple of 'buzz' acts that you can't get tickets for no matter how hard you've tried - David Trent (a friend of mine), Pappy's, Daniel Kitson - but quite a few of the bigger acts were suffering a bit for audiences. Many have theories on why this is - somebody said to me at the end of run party on Sunday evening that it was because the fringe relies a lot on international visitors and, because of the Olympics, flights into the UK were so much more expensive so that put them off. A few people believe it's simply because it's been a busy summer for Great Britian - all the sport, how much money, and leave, and energy do people have? Alan our soundman extraordinaire believes it's deeper than a one-year blip and that the model of the whole fringe is changing, and going back to basics. With about 40% of the fringe being free, why would people pay to see a show? There really is much to be said either way about that, he has a point though - there's still a recession, people don't have money at the end of the day.
It was clear very early on that both of our shows were going to struggle, because, probably of all of the reasons above combined, but also because (as Izzy pointed out) we didn't really have a marketing strategy. No 'really' about it, really. Gone are the days when flyering with a little charm on the Royal Mile was enough to convince people to come to your shows. The flyering didn't work at all this year - maybe I'm just not charming any more. Felt like we were the only people without a review on our flyers because we didn't have one to put on there (the danger of only doing a limited run, and also because we didn't get any reviewers in to the previews because we were so unsure about the quality of production at the time so didn't invite any press). We had three reviewers in for Oscar Pike during the week - the one that came on the first performance (he laughed a lot and I'm confident about this one - review hasn't emerged anywhere yet though), one that came on the second performance which was a TERRIBLE DAY where the reviewer was one of only two people in the audience (the other being our friend Mary who had already seen the show in Cambridge but still found it in her to laugh at the same jokes again, top lady) and it was the worst we've ever performed the play - we had been working so hard to flyer and get the numbers up that we were knackered before the play even started...also, it's really hard to say monologues to the audience about 'the lady league' and other blokey things when the audience is made up of two women - at one point I said a whole monologue to an empty chair. Annoyingly, that's the only review that has been published so far, it wasn't the nicest but said some nice-ish things about the piece - if I was a reviewer that day I would have ripped us apart. We also had a journalist in for the fourth performance, he laughed a lot and it was a good day, but again - nothing has been printed yet, maybe it'll be out there soon. One reviewer was scheduled for Greatest Goal, but never turned up, which was a shame because it was mid-run and Grace was really hitting her stride by then.
Wednesday felt like a new low for me as a fringe producer...that day's performance of Oscar Pike was cancelled because we hadn't sold a single ticket. And that was despite my meeting the night before with the lovely Lynne - marketing manager at Sweet, who let me invent any offer I wanted to get people in. That day we decided to go half price and flyered our amazing offer like crazy, but nothing. Greatest Goal did go ahead earlier that day to three people, all of whom loved it, but for Oscar - nothing. The most painful thing about this is knowing that you've not sold any tickets but having to put up the set and be in costume just in case somebody decides to turn up at the last minute. They didn't, so I'm sat in an empty venue, in my pyjamas, feeling like a loser, being called "grumpy pants" by the others. I wanted to go back to the flat to sulk and watch TV, but the others wouldn't let me as it's Grace's birthday and besides - there wasn't a TV in the flat anyway. In six years at the fringe, this was a first. It won't happen again. I had cheered up later in the evening, we celebrated Grace's new age by seeing Piff The Magic Dragon (one the funniest things I have ever seen at the fringe - choking with laughter) and Andrew Lawrence, and drinking in the Pleasence courtyard until the early hours. We spent a lot of time in the Pleasence courtyard - it's my favourite place at the fringe, vibrant, colourful, lots of space, and a good place to spot the odd celebrity (one night we saw Simon Amstell, Tim Vine and Richard Bacon all loitering, and I got introduced to comedian Nick Helme by David Trent at the bar but foolishly didn't know who he was - the next morning Izzy was telling me what a fan of his she is and I felt a bit daft).
Thankfully the rest of the performances of Oscar did happen - in fact the next day we EIGHT people in, yeah, get us. That was because we had the show for sale in the Half Price Hut though I think. Greatest Goal ticked over nicely with small audiences but Grace knew exactly how to handle them completely, such a good actress. She deserved a bigger audience for her performance though, she deserved some kind of recognition for this, as does Michelle for directing it so well - monologues can be boring, they made them lovely and interesting to watch. In the penultimate performance of Oscar there was five people in, one of which was my ex-girlfriend. Awkward! It was pointed out to us by someone at the venue that everyone who came out of both shows during the week were smiling/still laughing, and looked like they had really enjoyed the productions. Not being arrogant or anything, but that's because these shows are good, a lot of time and care had gone into them. But as I've already touched on earlier in this post, having a good show isn't enough these days - but we'll learn from this. Our marketing strategy was flawed this year. Well, we didn't have one. Next year we'll have one. Did I just say we're doing another show next year? Hhhhmmm, let's have a think about this.
The final Oscar was beautifully surreal - twenty people in, quite a few of them children...Oscar isn't a kids show, it has the words 'fuck' and 'wanker' in it quite a lot. 'Fuck' was replaced by either strained facial expressions to express my frustration or 'sod' when it came to 'fuck off'. 'Wanker' was replaced by 'prat' - which apparently is the most hilarious word in the world if you're under 10. Ironically, Oscar Pike's fringe farewell went down a storm, maybe family-friendly is the way forward? Yeah, right! Got away with it anyway, and nice to end on a high, we needed to, what with an eight hour car drive home the next day. At the Sweet end of fringe party/awards ceremony, which was really lovely and so nice to chat and drink with other performers, we won an award: The Realism Award For Company Name Most Frequently Used In Real Life. Realism for our company name (Get A Real Job Productions) in what was a pretty surreal fringe.
You know, staying in that small flat, I'm amazed Izzy and Grace didn't kill me - I think I may have been difficult to work with last week, I was either ratty/grumpy when things weren't going to plan ("this pointless, I'm not doing the fringe again...") or over-enthusiastic ("if we flyer lots tomorrow we can sell out and be rich and famous...") but they didn't, which demonstrates what lovely people they are. And the late night lectures/advice (they were lectures) about how to find a new girlfriend were appreciated, even if it did feel like I was being told off a bit (a lot). They're both really lovely, as is Michelle, and Alan our soundman is a dude and friend who I need to drink beer with more often.
And beyond the stress and excitement of our own shows there was of course hundreds and hundreds of other shows to see, and we saw lots in between flyering/our own productions/drinking lots, Piff The Magic Dragon topped my favourites list for the year (you should go and see this show, wherever it is and wherever you are) with Tim Key a close second with 'Masterslut' - a great, surreal show that is difficult to explain but I can't wait to see it again in Cambridge soon. I somehow ended up playing second percussion for comedian Rob Deering during his show, and Dead Cat Bounce, Rom Com Con and The Beta Males were also really great. There was also a few stinkers, but it's just not nice to list them because there's every chance there's someone else somewhere like me blogging about the fringe and I wouldn't want them to mention our shows in such a light. But...there was one evening that was totally dreadful - it was a benefit night, and was supposed to have a selection of top comedians performing. Only one of them had turned up, and sat awkwardly in the little venue we watched him explain that he was stretching this out (there wasn't even a host), we wanted to like him and go along with it but the material wasn't working - he was trying so hard, but it just wasn't. As the evening progressed and no other act turned up he started to lose the plot, and eventually the whole audience (about twenty people) were forced onto the stage to see what it's like under the lights, not allowed to sit down until we laugh, and the second comedian (who had just turned up) had to start his act sat in the empty audience. Eventually, we were freed from this weird comedy hostage situation and 'allowed' to sit down, but the second comedian was as dreadful as the first and small group by small group of people everybody ran out. Outside it was like the fire bell had just gone off - the audience in hysterics (for the first time in about 40 minutes) about how bad that was, and relieved we had managed to escape that monstrosity. It kind of all adds to the fringe experience, I guess.
Although having a 'quiet' year, the Edinburgh Fringe is the most magical place on the planet, on arrival at the top of the Royal Mile all you have to do is look down at the thousands of people, whether they be potential audience members or more than likely performers desperately wanting to entertain you. Being entertained is one of life's treats, laughing is healthy and I did a lot of that last week. We made a couple mistakes at the fringe with the planning of our shows, but equally, in retrospect, we have every right to be very proud of ourselves. Good work, team.
So, what next? Well, it's Lodestar this weekend - the final hurrah for Greatest Goal and Oscar, and there I shall be premiering a new show I'm writing for fantastic blues band called The Outlines. I should have probably been working on the script rather than spending so much time on this blog post but hey - there's still time to do a good job of it. After that I'm straight into the studio to record a Christmas album with some lovely and talented people, and some gigs and stuff, some nice gigs coming up. I should really get my novel out there too, finally, now I've got my head around this whole Kindle thing (and the ultra-arty Cara Pedder is designing me a cover), and there's talk of a radio sitcom before the Christmas show. Lots of ideas, too many ideas, as always. Whatever they may be though there's nobody I would want to work more on them with than Izzy, okay so she snaps a bit when she hasn't eaten (as I discovered), but she's annoyingly talented, has got a genuine eye for what works and what doesn't as well as fast becoming one of my best friends in the whole world, great things can be achieved. I'm not sure if she agrees, but I'll give her a few weeks of space and then start sending scripts over.
Edinburgh Fringe 2012 - done. Stressfully. Edinburgh Fringe 2013? I've had time to think about it, of course we bloody will.
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