It's been a slightly manic week and a bit, but my to-list suddenly feels much more manageable. After a busy weekend in which we had our Edinburgh Fringe fundraiser quiz (note to self: I could never be a quiz show host), played a couple gigs and re-wrote the Edinburgh shows, I spent two evenings recording with The Trevor Jones Band. It was a nice session, we were at Half Ton Studios (I seem to have spent a lot of time there this year), this time with the incredibly talented and remarkably patient Matty Moon behind the desk, and the purpose was purely to demo four previously unrecorded tracks for Trev's management. The songs were recorded virtually live in three takes, with additional guitar and backing vocals added on top, and they sound lovely already. The legendary Alister Bunclark has since added piano, and his contributions alone just remind me that I NEED to be in a band again with this genius. Not sure if these songs will ever be officially released, but I think they'll be put on Soundcloud at least and have certainly fulfilled their purpose of us having a good record of the full band in full swing.
After that I was back in fringe rehearsals. These feel like pivotal sessions; just getting the scripts perfect before all the learning and direction kicks in. Happy to report that the new Oscar Pike script is now a bit of a treat, after a few somewhat worrying earlier drafts, and we're all quite excited about it. Our other show, Probably The Greatest Goal Ever Scored (And Other Tales) is also going to rock (in a theatrical kinda way) because Michelle Golder is directing and she's just full of ideas. I'm really quite pumped about both shows now, in fact I haven't been this confident about my writing in years...which is probably why I'm writing like a madman at the moment. Currently finishing the script for an alternative musical (called 'Lorry Day' - can't help but feel somehow this could be one for Dowsing For Sound but logistically I just don't think it could happen), as well as working on a new play called 'Mr Honesty' and a film script about the obsession with the need to fall in love called 'The Gabby Factor.' My debut novel, 'Big Hopes In Little Winhaven' is now with a proof reader, it was hard to finally let someone else see it, but I've had it and been tinkering with it constantly since September and I have to hand it over at some point...
Band-wise things feel really positive, the session with the Dowsing For Sound band on Friday night was nothing short of remarkable. The gig at The Corn Exchange in Cambridge is less than a month away and it's going to be huge - biggest night of my drumming career I think. It's not just the size of the venue (played there a couple times before), or the size of the choir (drummed with them a couple times before), but just the size and depth of the project itself. On Friday we were focusing on a brilliantly complex piece of world music (I think it was originally by the Afro Celt Sound System), a free-fall jazz track, a beautiful and punchy rendition of 'Beautiful Child' by Rufus Wainwright and our big set finale, which I'll keep secret for now. The addition of Richard on trumpet is another masterstroke by Andrea, and between all of us (Andrea, Nicky, Gav, Sammy, Richard and myself) we are making wonderful sounds. We're back with the choir next week as rehearsals with both the singers and band kick in ahead of the gig, it's really something rather special. I said the whole 'this will be special' thing ahead of the first gig last year, but that looks like nothing compared to what we're creating this time around. Dowsing For Sound has gone up a gear or three, yet I couldn't have predicted where those gears could have come from. It is an honour and a privilege to be involved with something as good as this; I need to be challenged sometimes and this project certainly does that, yet above all I'm just completely in awe of the talents of those around me. The gig is on June 16th, I don't normally like to advertise gigs on here (I save that for emails and my website) but you really would be an idiot if you didn't attend this one.
I turn 31 on Thursday and I feel like I'm really hitting my creative peak (although as the lovely Cathy said to me yesterday afternoon whilst we were walking a guide dog puppy, 'how do you know it's your peak?' - she has a point I guess). Both musically (Dowsing, British IBM, Flaming June, Trevor Jones Band and also the forthcoming return of Eureka Stockade) and as a writer (the Edinburgh shows, the novel) I'm finally starting to get things right. My attitude seems to be better as well, for example a former band of mine has just started recording their album in a huge world famous studio having been signed on a fairly big record deal - yet I'm not even bitter, or annoyed that I left them. Because I'm starting to realise the less I chase anything that resembles commercial success, the more I seem to enjoy myself. I'm a writer and a drummer for a reason: because I like writing and drumming, and sometimes you do just have to take a step back and remember why I'm doing this in the first place. Maturity, see. Yep. Although my pre-birthday celebrations last night were anything but mature - we drank like we were in our early 20's, and having woken up in a mates spare room with the worst hangover known to man this morning I've also remembered that nights like that are amazing (I was genuinely flattered by the amount of people that came down - my friends are actually the best people in the world - fact) but days like today are just lost as a result and I've got a lot of things I want to do. Right now.
Currently reading: Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace
Currently watching: Would I Lie To You, I'm Alan Partridge, Not Going Out
Currently listening to: Joe Jackson - Rain, The Cinematic Orchestra - Live At The Royal Albert Hall, Bill Ryder-Jones - If.
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