So, that was 2013

My hundredth blog post of the year and it feels like time for a little reflection. It's been a good twelve months, I tend to cram a lot into my days but in 2013 it feels like I've gone into overdrive at times...a lot of projects, some of them really, really worked, a couple that didn't, a year of wonderful people, big ideas, lots of Red Bull consumption and continued failure to grow a beard. So, this is what I went and did in 2013...

As always January starts off with ideas of writing a musical, as always nothing came of these ideas but still - it's good fun and hopefully, 'The Worriers' will see the light of day, one day. January is traditionally spent writing, fresh from the drunken excess of Christmas and feeling surprisingly refreshed. I spent a lot of the month booking tour and fringe dates and we also had our first new material show of the year. As far as new material nights go it was quite a successful one - it gave me an opportunity to try out two plays that have been quite good to me this year; GREAT ACHIEVERS (which would eventually be filmed for the YouTube series) and THE PRETTY GIRL IN THE SUPERMARKET (which would become an integral part of my touring live show). At the end of the month I was in the studio recording for DOWSING FOR SOUND - a mammoth project (that would, shortly after, have a slight name change) featuring huge choir and band, this was the first time we had recorded together but it was a glorious session. You know the kind of session where it all comes together even though it shouldn't? It was ambitious, but we nailed it, to be honest I wasn't quite expecting it to be as comfortable as that. I also played my first gig of the year with THE BRITISH IBM, we were in Derby for that show. In February I started writing my fringe shows, none of those original scripts made it further than my PC but it's good to keep trying stuff, I played further shows with The British IBM including a session for Q Radio (Q Magazine) in Birmingham, I also hit the stage with Dowsing for a lovely acoustic show as part of the E-Luminate Festival and played my first gigs of the year with EUREKA STOCKADE, TREVOR JONES and FLAMING JUNE. I was in the studio with Eureka Stockade. I had this idea of getting some of my plays filmed - over the years I've built up a solid back catalogue of short comedies and I just felt the need to have a record of them on film somehow so discussed this idea with one of my favourite directors, Sarah Ingram. In March this project came to life - called, AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHARDS (terrible pun, Sarah's idea!), we put together a small cast of outstanding actors (Eifion Jones, Amelia Mary, Alan Hay, Emma von Schreiber and occasional guests - Adam Daniels, Sylvie England, William Ingram, me) and recorded six plays in three weeks (two a night) over consecutive Sunday evenings in the back room of a small pub in Gamlingay. The plays were, 'Reviewing Jonathan,' 'When Jimmy Became James,' 'Toxic Tornado,' 'Great Achievers,' 'Letters To Sparkle' and, 'How About You?' I'm really proud of these scripts and this cast were incredible, perhaps the concept of theatre on a YouTube screen doesn't work as well as I wanted, but it's still nice to have a filmed record of my work - you can watch the plays here. This was also the month where I started drumming for FRED'S HOUSE for the first time - I've long been an admirer of this band, their ambitions match mine and they write exceptionally good tunes, so the opportunity to join them to record a couple tracks wasn't something that needed much consideration. It was a good session, we all seemed to click - same sense of humour, and although I only initially joined up for one recording session I found myself joining the band permanently shortly after. They work so hard, this makes me happy. I also found myself recording acoustically with Trevor Jones, and that month I had more gigs with Trevor, The British IBM and Eureka Stockade. The month ended with our Edinburgh Fringe fundraiser, in which we attempted to have 100 songs performed in 5 hours...thanks to JON ORCHARD's speedy tunes we did, it was great fun. April was mostly consumed by rehearsing and then touring SOME PLAYS BY PAUL RICHARDS. This was a show I had first toured in November 2012, it had developed naturally as a piece, I'd grown in confidence around the material and added, 'The Pretty Girl In The Supermarket' to the show. I was joined on tour by my close friend and cracking actress Hind Shubber and we performed the show in Kingsbridge, Newquay, Guildford, Great Massingham, Cambridge (two shows), Galashiels and then the tour ended triumphantly with a show on The Isle Of Skye. It was a tour that lacked logic in it's planning, it was stressful, tiring but remarkably good fun - I was buzzing by the end of it, a real sense that I'm starting to find my feet as both a performer and a writer, a genuine and unexpected success. I also managed to squeeze in a gig with Flaming June that month. In May I turned 32, confirmed our Edinburgh Fringe runs for, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' and also a new show with my regular collaborator and all round awesome dudette, Izzy Rees called REDUNDANCY CLUB. I then spent quite a lot of the month actually writing it. I was back in the studio with The British IBM to record a single (CGE Adventures), released a Kindle e-book called, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' and performed that show again, this time at The Bay Tree in Bury St. Edmunds and also in the Lake District, where we did the show at Wilf's Café in Kendle - both venues where we felt very welcome indeed. I played drums on the full rock album by THE PRISONER OF MARS, played live for the first time with THE BARE BONES BAND and more shows with The British IBM, Eureka Stockade, Trevor Jones and Flaming June and my new play, THE NIGHTS MUST FLY BY was given a first performance by WriteOn at the ADC theatre. By June the summer festival season had kicked in, I played various events with Flaming June, Eureka Stockade and the newly-named DOWSING SOUND COLLECTIVE, as well as other gigs with The British IBM and a London show with The Prisoner Of Mars. A venue became available at the fringe and, on a whim, I agreed to take it and suddenly I found myself booked to perform my first ever completely solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe. I had a title and a very brief (three sentences) synopsis plus a cracking promo photo courtesy of Chris Boland, this was enough for me to secure the offer. The show was to be called THINGS COULD BE MARVELLOUS, mostly because I was listening to The Lightning Seeds a lot at the time, I'd never written a completely solo show before and spent the rest of the month denying it was actually happening. By July I could feel everything building up; I'd probably taken on too much, which was both exciting and concerning in equal measures. The most challenging of those projects was The Dowsing Sound Collective gig at Ely Cathedral. A show that was so ambitious in the scale of it - the ever-growing choir, the choice of material, some of the rehearsals were a tad worrying but the show itself was...well, up there with my favourite nights ever. A remarkable evening in a jaw-droppingly beautiful setting, the kind of show so majestic I just felt flattered and honoured to be involved. I listened to the live recording the other day and it still sends a shiver down my spine; an incredible night where everything - both professionally and personally, came together. Perfect. I attempted to write, 'Things Could Be Marvellous' but gave up, instead choosing to concentrate on rehearsals for, 'Redundancy Club'. I also played my first live shows with Fred's House in July and it was lovely how things came together so quickly, I also played live with Trevor Jones, Flaming June, The British IBM and Eureka Stockade and started work on a jazz record with my close friends, Rohan Leach and Chris Lawrenson. That project would eventually be called, PILLARS. We've been back in the studio since, it isn't finished yet but that's one for 2014. The last weekend of July was a bit frantic; 'Redundancy Club' opened with three fringe previews in Cambridge and one in Great Massingham (alongside, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' on the same bill...on the Friday I was acting on stage for 4 hours), that weekend I also played at the Ickworth Race For Life festival with Trevor Jones, Fred's House and The Dowsing Sound Collective and I also moved house...looking back, I'm not sure how I managed to do all of that in two days, but it happened, somehow, although I remember very nearly collapsing at the end of it. Suddenly it was August; I had to write the solo show. I did, I was quite happy with the concept of it and some of the dialogue was snappy enough but when I went to perform it, script-in-hand, in front of a handful of friends at an invite-only performance in Cambridge it was clear I had no idea how it would work...and the show was due to open in Edinburgh later that week. Still, the Edinburgh Fringe is a spectacular place where dreams come true and creativity breads more creativity. Sure, it was a tough run at times; our venue caught fire, it flooded (twice), it was huge which was tough for the kind of intimate shows we were doing, we sometimes struggled for audiences (but other times it was great) and nobody could find it...but a lot of good came from this year's run. Spending three weeks up at the festival, performing pretty much every day, is a challenge - but one I loved, it was intense and we drank far too much but by the end of it I was thinking that I could happily have done even more. 'Redundancy Club' generally worked quite well, perhaps a bit unspectacular but satisfying all the same and Izzy's performances were consistently great, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' was a bit of a treat after a shaky start and the solo show, 'Things Could Be Marvellous' - well, let's be honest about this, was a bit of a mess for the first week and a bit but by the end of the third week I was having a cracking time up there (just sorry to anyone who saw the earlier performances, what a shambles). By the end of the run I felt so very comfortable in my own skin as a solo performer, I knew the material I had written wasn't the best but already ideas were brewing for how the next solo show(s) could work. Also at the fringe we had a guest slot at another venue so performed MAN V ANTS, we met some great people, saw some amazing shows. A day after I returned I was back on stage as a drummer, playing with Eureka Stockade. I needed to drum, it felt good. Still buzzing from the fringe, a week later it was September and Lodestar Festival where I returned to my role as Director Of Theatre. Alongside those duties (I booked some acts, basically), I performed, 'Some Plays...' with Hind and, 'Redundancy Club' with Izzy, and played with Fred's House. I also popped out, mid-festival, to play a gig with Trevor Jones, because clearly I wasn't doing enough that weekend. September also saw a load of gigs with Fred's House and some more studio time with them; you could just feel us getting stronger and stronger together (they've been going for years, suddenly having a fifth member must have taken a bit of adjusting to), performed a really stunning gig with Trevor Jones at The Bedford in Balham with guest piano, strings and double bass, got back in the studio with Pillars and played live with Flaming June. The final performance of, 'Redundancy Club' took place at The Bay Tree in Bury, and the final ever performance of, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' took place at the Preston Fringe. I'd had this show for a while, toured it twice as well as the Edinburgh run so felt a little sad about finally letting it go as much as I needed to move on. The Preston show was particularly strange; our venue went bust and we ended up performing it in someone's garage on a freezing night...but it went down well, a fittingly surreal end to a show that has been good to me. Next up was a concept I had thought of whilst at the fringe...LOUNGE PLAYS, in which I'd perform five different solo shows in five different lounges, recording them for a podcast type thing in the process. The first one was the final performance of, 'Things Could Be Marvellous' - performed around my good friend Julia's house in front of a happy and supportive audience, she was about to head off to Australia so I pushed this show forward to make sure she had a chance to see it and it was by far the best that show had looked. There's something about turning up at somebody's house and just performing a show in their lounge, or dining room, that appeals to me - it feels a bit dangerous, because they're so close to you, but when it works you feel rather good about it. In October I wrote and performed the rest of the lounge plays, 'How I Lost My Trousers' was performed at Matt's, 'Thomas Livermore Wouldn't Hurt A Fly' was performed at Phill's, 'New Adventures In Sat Nav' was performed at Alan's, 'Privacy' and also a re-record of, 'New Adventures In Sat Nav' performed at Jules'. Messy shows, but fun, and a great excuse to write new material. I'll be doing another run next year, in the meantime the 2013 lounge plays can be heard here. Also in October we started recording, TECHNICALLY SINGLE. A 4-part radio sitcom I'd written at the end of last year, it was nice to go back to being 'just a writer' - with Robin Owen, Izzy, Abi Sage and Alan Hay as the cast - they're all top, top notch actors and being recorded by Paul Malpas who is the master of his trade this is turning into a very decent project. It's still not finished, but will be released soon. Many gigs throughout the month with Fred's House (who also picked up two honours at the NMG Awards), Flaming June and the last show of the year for The British IBM, and I also recorded a jazz Christmas album with Grace Williams & The Bare Bones Band. Having booked a tour, November was mostly spent writing the Christmas show, and then rehearsing it. I co-organised a charity gig for Magpas and played live with The Dowsing Sound Collective (Christmas lights switch on in Cambridge), Fred's House, Flaming June and Trevor Jones. My new play, GAPS was given a first airing by WriteOn at the ADC Theatre and I also wrote and recorded a new live show, SHORT STORIES FOR LANKY PEOPLE. That featured 8 short stories in an hour, with Ali Bunclark doing piano bits in the middle, we recorded it live in front of a small audience and the recording sounds much better than it felt at the time. And so here we are; December. It's been a frantically festive few weeks; at the start of the month we toured the Christmas show, SOME CHRISTMAS PLAYS BY PAUL RICHARDS. It was myself and Hind back on the road again, a tour which saw us perform in Bury St Edmunds, Kingsbridge, Liverpool, Kendal (two performances), Preston, Cranford (two performances), Cambridge (two performances), Bristol and Halesworth. An interesting run - some shows to really small crowds (2 people in Preston, for example), other shows completely sold out, the show took a few days to get going but when it did I felt more Christmassy than I have done in years. Straight after the tour I was back in Dowsing mode as The Dowsing Sound Collective ended a brilliant year with a show at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in front of over a thousand people. With over a hundred singers, band, brass section, string quartet, guests all over the place it was an absolute beast of a project but it achieved what it set out to be - a riotous Christmas party that, a few days later, people are still talking about. A day later I was busking in the centre of town with opera singer Hazel Neighbour - we have a new project called, OPERACONGA...more on that one next year. And...relax. One more gig to go (New Years Eve show with Fred's House), but for now - hurrah, a few days to see family, to appreciate them, to soak up the merriment of the most wonderful time of the year.

So quickly, some stats:
This year I have played (well, would have played when the final gig is done) 92 gigs
I have drummed with 11 different artists
I have played drums on 5 albums, 4 EPs and 1 single
I have performed on stage as an 'actor' 75 times, but I still deny I'm actually an actor. I just get away with it, most of the time.
I have written 14 plays

I've really enjoyed 2013; I've been lucky enough to have played some really wonderful gigs in front of big and vibrant audiences, I'm continually finding my feet as a writer and performer. Like every artistic endeavour some of it shouldn't work, some of it didn't, but sometimes it really does. For every show there's a million ideas which get scrapped before performance, for every gig there's a Sat Nav cock-up. For every project there's a shed load of rehearsals, admin and continued reminder that I am surrounded by exciting and talented people. I'm often reminded that I don't see enough of my friends, that I don't know how to relax, that I've been a bit crap at keeping in touch and that I'm doing too much...all correct, of course, sorry about that. Equally though I'm really enjoying it - everything. See you in 2014, I predict it will be amazing x

The Dowsing Christmas Cocktail

As the venue cleared, fresh from a standing ovation and with the continued bursts of merriment from the audience spilling out of the Cambridge Corn Exchange and into the streets, I approached our musical director genius, Andrea, to offer an apology. An apology for the messy endings in at least four songs in the second set, an apology because this was a big show - a real big show, and at points the drummer wasn't quite on it. He meant well, but at times this one just didn't work out. But before I could speak, Andrea hugged me - really happy with how the gig had gone telling me it was a brilliant gig, a storming show.

As I write this it's 1.34am, I've got a well-deserved beer on the go and I'm watching an old episode of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads. I'm just back from the after show party which I decided, mid-gig, not to go to because I was having a bit of a shocker, but got persuaded to go. It was lovely, full of lovely people, Dowsers are lovely. All of them. The same can be said for my friends Andy, Matt and Jenny, who were also there.

I've learned quite a lot this evening. Now of course this isn't all about me - Dowsing is a massive project, a project that goes beyond music - every show takes months and months of planning, it's like a military operation. I arrived at the Corn Exchange at 9am and shortly after unloading soundchecks began, soundchecks and rehearsals which eventually finished at 5.30pm, two hours before the gig itself. It was a long day but it flew by, so much to do, it's not easy soundchecking over a hundred singers, a band, a brass section, a string quartet, various guests...it's a circus, a musical feast, all coming together, tiredness isn't a factor when there's excitement to get you through. I had my issues, I didn't think as rhythm section we'd rehearsed the endings of some of the songs enough, some of them felt a bit messy, but nobody likes a guy who has issues. The choir are wonderful people, so generously dedicated to bringing Andrea's majestic ideas to life, our guest musicians all added extra spice, and yet at the same time the rhythm section of Gav, Sam and myself feels so comfortable now - Gav and Sam are two of the finest players I've worked with and it's a joy to be on stage with them.

The first half, for me, was the best Dowsing has ever sounded. It was joyful. You could just feel it working, even the tricky bits, all of it, working. The sound quality was outstanding too, full credit to Matty Moon (an old friend of mine who was one of the sound team) and his crew, the audience were into it in an instant. The second half was, in my opinion where things started to feel slightly messy drum-wise. It was all about the endings, only one time would it have been noticeable to the audience (because there was a cheeky ride cymbal lingering after everything else had finished), other times we just about got away with it. See, there's over a hundred singers and plenty of musicians on stage to cover each other, but drums are bloody loud and it's really noticeable if things aren't going strictly to plan.

The gig got a standing ovation, it was packed tonight, and it was riotously festive. It was energetic, it was a party, the singers sang their hearts out, the arrangements were innovative, I haven't heard a bad word about the gig from anybody. My annoyance about my performance was purely because I don't want to let the side down; Dowsing is a lovely side and I want to do my best for them. For all of my little niggles about my own performance, the stunning performances of those around me did cover it, it was a wonderful show. We had a groove going, we're building something here, you know? This feels very special indeed, I'm honoured to be involved. People are enjoying themselves; onstage, in the audience. Sometimes enjoyment and euphoria mean more than anything else. And this is what I'm learning...I'm really tired at the moment, and I'm forgetting to enjoy things, to appreciate them for what they really are. I've just recently finished a full UK tour as a comedy writer/actor, a week later I'm stage in front of a thousand people drumming with an incredible project, surrounded by some of the most inspiring and dedicated people I've ever met. Tomorrow I drum for jaw-droppingly good opera singer Hazel Neighbour. I've just signed a small publishing deal. It's Christmas. It's time to just let go and enjoy what's going on here; it's all rather wonderful.

Christmas tour notes, pre-Dowsing thoughts

A couple weeks ago we set off on our UK tour for my new show, Some Christmas Plays By Paul Richards. The title of course is very similar to that of my last tour show (which ended up at the fringe), although with the word 'Christmas' added in, obviously. This was all new material though, written specifically for the tour, although there were one or two similarities - the main one being the format, which I really enjoy - three plays in an hour, ticked off on a board when each one is done. The audience know where we are in the show...and so do I. Instant theatre, relaxed, chatty, a bit messy. I've come to realise that my shows will never be slick, they'll never be polished, but they tell a story, they entertain, they've got life to them, and this show was full of that because it's Christmas which is the best time of the year. And with each show I'm getting better at being relaxed and chatty, I've started to realise that audiences are generally nice people - they've paid a fiver to watch you, the chances are they want to like it. The other similarity to the previous tour show of course is that it was a show that featured just myself, as myself, and Hind Shubber playing all the other roles. We purposely decided against having a director for this show, a brave move that in another project would have cost us but we had a vision and working method for this one that wasn't really open to a third person. Rehearsals were good, the material seemed to really hold up - two longer plays with both of us, with a shorter one in the middle which is me solo, lashings of Christmas tunes, tour consisting of a few venues we've done before and a few new ones.

The night before our official opening night we previewed it at my mate Phill's house. Phill is a good friend and cracking host (I performed/recorded one of my lounge plays around his earlier this year), he had a good crowd in as always and the show itself was...nervy. Some bits clearly didn't work; the pre-recorded dialogue which was played whilst I was getting into costumes in between plays was too long and killed the momentum of the show, Hind's shoes were slowing down her costume changes, and most worryingly of all...my card trick actually worked. That wasn't in the script. The joke was that I can't do magic, but I accidentally did and, whilst it may have looked impressive, I was thrown by this completely. The next day, with issues solved, we opened properly at the lovely Bay Tree Café in Bury St Edmunds. I really like The Bay Tree - it's the third time I've performed there this year and it's just the perfect space for us, run by lovely people who promote the shows really well, we have a returning audience of people who like what we do and it was a nice start to the run. Performance wasn't quite up to top gear and audiences, even subconsciously, can sense that, but the praise and kind comments afterwards suggested that they had enjoyed it. The next day we drove down to Devon to return to The Art Café in Kingsbridge. I have family history in Kingsbridge and always have fond memories of visiting my grandfather down there back in the day (indeed we even drove passed what used to be his house), we were staying in the middle of nowhere and the trip from hotel to venue found us taking in some of the 'traditional' tricky roads which are always a bit of a mission. Parking was also an issue as there was some kind of event (Christmas lights being switched on I think) taking place that night, but Georgie and her team at the venue made a great effort to make us feel as welcome as possible. In front of a small audience the show was tighter and people seemed to enjoy it - I still found myself picking at bits of the script which didn't work but it was solid enough, if unspectacular.

Performance number four found us up in Liverpool to perform at Café D'Art. A new venue for us, and quite a trek up the country in blustery conditions (we saw some pretty terrible accidents along the way, some of them so bad it was difficult to be believe they were real), it was a strange night in the sense that it looked like it was going to be quiet but ended up being an absolute cracker - very busy, audiences crammed in, a real sense of vibrancy in the air. At times the audience treated it more like a panto...they really took sides with my character (as a result Hind got a bit of stick) but it's nice they cared so much and we could just feel it on stage - this was starting to work. Cracking evening, can't wait to go back there again. That show was the start of our few days up north, the rare bit of the tour which demonstrated a little logic in the planning. Next up was a return to Wilf's Café in Kendal, where we had first performed back in May. So nice to see some returning faces, people who like what we do, it's obviously what we're all striving for so it's nice that it actually happens sometimes. Due to demand we were booked to perform twice at the venue, with a break for some carol singers in the evening. A remarkably festive performance space, Charlotte at the café promotes the shows really well so ticket sales for both shows were strong. It's the first time we've performed this one twice in one night, and it only occurred to me during the second performance just how exhausting that is - it's a fast show, with costume changes and excessive enthusiasm, my energy levels perhaps waned a bit during the latter stages of the second showing but the audiences, as they were the last time we performed there, were quietly into it. They're very much a theatre audience, so the shows themselves were quiet but with strong applause at the end, we came away happy.

The Saturday found us in Preston; I enjoyed their fringe festival earlier this year and they booked us on the scale of our show back then. This time we were at the Korova Arts Centre. A new space, I just wished Cambridge had somewhere like this - dedicated studio theatre space upstairs, live music downstairs (on the night we were there it was a jazz duo, a day later it was Tom Hingley from Inspiral Carpets). Perfect performance space, the kind of space where you don't have to raise your voice to make an impact. We always knew ticket sales were a struggle for this one - can't be helped, Christmas is a time when everyone is busy and I'm not exactly a household name in the area. We did the show to 2 people - but they were both really nice, one of them was Tarquin who hosted our show in his garden at the Preston Fringe and it was great to catch up with him again, the other was a girl called Alice who walked in by mistake but laughed throughout and we enjoyed her company so much we ended up having a few drinks and grabbing a takeaway with her after the show. Surreal night, but performance-wise probably the best we've done it - even the song at the end, which was always quite bad, ticked the relevant comedy boxes. Hungover from the Preston fun (despite an audience of two I'd happily go back there with the new show, indeed it's already been discussed with Sam - their brilliant manager), the next day we made the journey down to Cranford, near Kettering. Another somewhat unconventional performance space, The Old Forge is a delightful café in a very quiet village. Another day of two performances in quick succession, I really felt like we hit top form in the first performance, it was the clear sign of a confident production, the intentional messy nature of this show received warmly by the locals. The second performance still worked, albeit with a slightly lower energy, the fact that the audience were so intimidatingly close to us didn't cause any problems because every single person in that room was so very nice. It also felt good because it was relatively close to home, so we could actually sleep in our own beds that night - being away is nice, but sometimes you need the familiarity. The next night we performed twice in Cambridge - I won't go on about it again because I've written a separate post about it here, it was nice enough - the performances continued to get more boisterous (cocky, even) and those who were there loved it, but that's the end of my Cambridge performances for a very long while.

After a three day break (in which I had a chance to fulfil some drumming/filming commitments), we hit the road again and back down the other end of the country to Bristol. I can't deny this was a tough journey, my back tyre was in a bad way and as a result I was in danger of losing control of the car on the M4, pumping air into it didn't seem to help the situation so it had to be changed. In a more dramatic light I'd say we're lucky to be alive, but then again - why say that? Nothing actually happened, the situation was resolved, it was a bit scary but we arrived at the venue in good time all the time. The Birdcage is a wonderful space - it has Costello posters on the wall, it's relaxed without being for hippies, it's really well run. At first it looked like the audience would just be Matt, one of my best friends who we were also staying with that night, but a few more came in and we did the show to 10 people or so - it was enough to make it feel like it was working, and it was great to see Izzy again too as she's somebody I'm used to seeing a lot but just don't. The performance was a bit slack for 10 minutes then we hit good pace, not a bad show at all. I'm back at the Birdcage next year as a drummer, playing for Fred's House as part of our album tour, I look forward to it very much. The final date of our festive tour found us in Halesworth. You have to drive through about seven villages to find Halesworth, including a farm track, but it's worth it when you get there - a small village (although I think somebody called it a town), our show there was a sellout and Polly who ran Tilly's with her mother is a cracking host - enthusiastic, business minded, all the things you need. The performance itself (filmed by Nadia) was tight and solid, it reminded me of the Kendal performances where the audience are very respectful, treating it like 'proper' theatre but it was a strong end to the tour. It was a tour that took in 1,600 miles, I can't deny there were points where Hind and myself needed space from each other but that's part of what touring is about. It felt like a really strong show by the end, something I was proud of (was less proud of it at the start of the run, though), I'm not the easiest to work with; I have a very clear vision and I'm not the best at delegating, so Hind deserves a medal or something.

Also on this tour, for the first time, I actually had merchandise to sell. A recording of, 'Short Stories For Lanky People' on CD - a show I'd recorded at CB2 in Cambridge a week before the run. I actually think this is the best thing I've done - better than the tour show itself, it's surprised me how well this concept works. It's a solo piece (well, collection of solo pieces), and this release is a pretty clear indication of where I'm heading in 2014. I'll be touring a new solo show in the first few months of the year, I'm happy with the way it's shaping up - it's called, 'Getting Lost In My Home Town' and it covers pretty much everything that's bugging me at the moment, which feels like a lot of things. I won't be doing this show in Cambridge, for lots of reasons.

Yet for a man who is continually fantasising about going solo for creative projects because of the obvious lack of restraints for creativity, it feels strange to be back with Dowsing for this next gig because it's the furthest removed from solo you could get - I mean, there's over a hundred people involved (in Fred's House it's easy to be happy because there's a sense we're all on the same page anyway). We're playing at the Cambridge Corn Exchange this Saturday and it's our fourth major show. Dowsing is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, a rollercoaster that is loved by everybody involved in it. So many talented people are part of this show, it promises to be spectacular - the dress rehearsal tonight felt horrible for many reasons (not an excuse for my poor performance, but certainly lots of factors behind it), I found myself feeling frustrated and agitated throughout. But it's good to get these negative feelings out of the way now, by Saturday I'll be enjoying it again, hopefully.

The Cambridge shows

We're currently mid-tour (will write up a full blog about how it's been when it's all over at the weekend, but it's been good - really good at times), it's an exciting thing - but last night we had the hometown performances, something that always concerns me. We had to do it - financially more than anything, because local shows generally help top up the kitty (no accommodation/petrol costs etc), but I can see why other acts struggle with the concept of performing in front of people they know so well. The joy of touring is that you are forced out of your comfort zone; I'm not sure there is a bigger thrill than winning over an audience who don't look like they are going to enjoy it...meeting new people, performing in different and often unconventional spaces. Back in your hometown the chances are the audience will be people who know you already and they'll find different things funny in the show because they know you personally; they'll laugh at the fact Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer has an addiction to Rustlers burgers because they know that in real life, previously at least, I've quite enjoyed microwave snacks - whereas a neutral audience will find it funny that Rudolph eats such a thing in the first place; on tour the audience cringe (and laugh) at the plight of a lonely office worker so desperate to impress that he ends up reinventing himself as Enrique The Spanish Elf - in Cambridge a lot of the audience will just see it as Paul - their mate, in an ill-fitting costume. It's still comedy, it still works on either level, but there's something about performing in my home town that doesn't feel right anymore, it's like we're not on a level playing ground before the show begins. Merchandise is another example, for this tour I've started selling a CD of a recent live show, Short Stories For Lanky People, not being arrogant but it's a cracking little show that one, but why would my friends buy a CD of me ranting for an hour when they can just meet me for a beer down the pub and hear me do it in real life?

The other danger of course is dwindling audience figures - when you've been performing in the same space naturally you can't sustain a run of sell-out shows and I've done far too much in Cambridge this year. People start to miss out on the odd show because they know you'll be back again soon...I can't complain, I've got friends who perform twice a month in this city, they have been for a couple of years now, yet I still haven't managed to catch a show. We had about 30 or so in last night, which is still very respectable and it was great to see new friends (Guilliaume, Adam, Natalie, Jessica) and old friends (Heather, both Vicky's, Griff, Gaff, Marcus, Leigh, Jack, Rohan, Andy, Amy, Dan, Julia, Alan), not a single member of the Dowsing Sound Collective which saddened me slightly as the audience sing-along bit was written for them but so be it (I shouldn't really be writing a tour show with specific audience members in mind so that's a learning curve right there). Last night was enormous fun - terrific vibe in the room for both performances, I'm so incredibly grateful to those people who keep turning up to see my work and I genuinely believe this show is the best thing I've done this year by some distance (Christmas always brings out the best in me and it's a frantic show, we cram a lot into 70 minutes but with a sense of poignancy too which has perhaps been missing from some of my recent work, I come off stage completely exhausted - which is always a good sign). There was also the sense that it was a bit of an annual Christmas party, for a lot of my friends now the Paul Richards festive show is part of their routine, it was great fun and I drove home happy. But yep, time to make sure my Cambridge performances are strictly an annual thing.

Christmas lights, new plays, pre-tour thoughts

The problem with having lots of projects on the go, I’ve realised, is the amount of rehearsals for all of them. That’s the bit I often forget when it comes to agreeing to this stuff, and last week was rehearsal heavy on two of my most prominent projects; the Christmas show and the Dowsing gig. It’s all going well, but they’re both really important projects to me so I mustn’t allow myself to get relaxed about it all.  

The Christmas show is over an hour of new material which, considering my general lack of ability to learn lines as quickly as proper actors, has felt like a bit of a struggle but we’re on track, kind of. The tour starts next week, it’ll be seat of the pants stuff on stage, but adds to the excitement of it all – if the audience can sense a little edge in our performance it’s far more enjoyable for them rather than an actor going through the motions. Ticket sales have been great in some places, less so in others (in particular Cambridge, but I’ve come to expect that now) and the press machine is working well with some notable coverage in Devon, Preston and the Lake District. And most importantly; it’s a really strong show – we’ve pulled out all the stops with this one, as much as it’s great to try out darker material or new methods of working, this one very much builds on the success of the last tour, it’s joke-heavy and exhausting, in the best possible way. I just wish my elf costume was a bit…well, bigger. Clearly ‘one size fits all’ isn’t ‘one size fits Paul Richards.’

After all these rehearsals (occasionally with two different rehearsals in different locations in one night) it was great to be gigging again this weekend. On Friday I played with Flaming June in Louth (near Grimsby) where it felt like we couldn’t do a thing wrong, is it strange that I feel awkward when people are being so incredibly friendly to us? On Saturday I played in Royston with Fred’s House and we absolutely stormed it – it was a long show, but the momentum got us through. Yesterday back with Flaming June for two afternoon shows in Huntingdon as part of their Christmas lights switch on. Huntingdon is a thoroughly miserable place, the guys behind the event worked hard and I appreciate that, and we did well under difficult circumstances, but I was still quite glad to get home. Last night my new play, ‘Gaps’ was given a first performance by WriteOn at the ADC – cracking cast, cracking vibe, great direction, happy Paul.

In between all of this I’ve finally finished the script for a new show, ‘Short Stories For Lanky People’ – it’s being recorded tomorrow night for an audiobook release, cutting it fine, as always, but I get a strange buzz out of this. In the meantime my little sitcom, ‘Technically Single’ is nearly complete, I’ve been unable to make a lot of the recording sessions due to my schedule but have been kept very much in the loop, they’re a wonderful production team so fingers crossed this ends up being the perfect calling card for all of us involved.

The festive season is very much with us now, always the busiest time of the year. I’m certainly going to have myself an intense little Christmas…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Gig report: Christmas lights show, Cambridge

Bands: The Dowsing Sound Collective, Fred's House
Venue: The Grand Arcade and Market Square, Cambridge
Date: 17/11/13
Audience: Packed, festive
Sets: Dowsing: Tonight's The Kind Of Night, Ho Hey (not set 2), I Believe In Father Christmas, White Sky, You Can Keep Me Talking, Fairytale Of New York. Fred's House: Standing Next To Me, Fine Life, Beautiful You, Take A Ride
Notes: I'm really into Christmas - perhaps more so than the average 32-year-old should be, so the opportunity to play at the Cambridge launch of the Christmas lights was something I'd been looking forward to for quite a while now. Ignoring the fact that I was so knackered from last night - and the early Sunday morning start today put me in a grumpy mood, Dowsing typifies Christmas for me... so much spirit in that group, our 11am show at The Grand Arcade woke me up nicely. With Dowsing there's always pressure, it's just a completely different type of gig, even with a scaled-down choir, and today we performed a couple songs for the first time ahead of the Corn Exchange gig next month. We did well, and Billy Bragg was watching. We then dashed over to Market Square, complete with our equipment (I played the cocktail kit for all of my gigs today, with the exception of a sliding bass pedal it served me well, which is a relief because it really didn't cut it at the British IBM gig in Manchester a month ago) to play a second set. Same songs - with the omission of Ho Hey, and the choir switched around, really big audience, a touch tighter, all in all a solid live return for a massive project which continues to grow and grow without spiralling out of control. A couple hours later I was back on the Market Square stage, this time with Fred's House. Our bassist, Gaff, was unable to make this one, and we were struck a further blow when Lachy - our lead guitarist, was too unwell to play (he was feeling very, very rough at the gig last night). The three of us - Vikki, Griff and myself bashed through it regardless - it was a bit of a challenge but only a short set anyway and we held that audience, they were a big crowd, but we kept them, it felt like a bit of a victory. All in all a busy, but thoroughly enjoyable day.

Gig report: Magpas charity gig @ The Ferryboat, Holywell

Bands: Trevor Jones, Fred's House
Venue: The Ferryboat, Holywell
Date: 16/11/13
Audience: Warm, appreciative
Sets: Not sure
Notes: Alongside my friends Peter and Trevor (and venue manager Kat), I organised this little charity show for Saturday evening in aid of Magpas. Magpas are really good you know - they save lives, yet are unfunded, so my suggestion to put on a few bands to help raise them a few quid was warmly received. This was a nice evening, a really nice one actually - The Ferryboat is a perfect setting for chilled, more relaxed live music (indeed, there are sofas, everyone felt very comfortable), my close friends Alighting opened the show with their first gig in years (but what an enjoyable set it was), before the wonderful Danielle Page (with Ian on guitar) performed a soulful set with a remarkable amount of vocal clarity. I was then on stage drumming for Trevor, electric set with Tony on bass, perhaps slightly unrehearsed but we jammed earlier in the day to refresh and Trev's songs are so strong that even the odd shaky ending didn't harm what was a very enjoyable set. Moving into the main bar, Fred's House headlined this one - a joy to be in this band, you know, so much material to chose from, so tight, even if at times were slightly on auto-pilot (surely that's what happens to any band though when you play as much as we do) and Lachy was feeling rough we did well - won over a lot of new people, a successful end to a very worthy evening.

Thick people

Last week I was playing a gig in a small pub, on a Sunday evening, in my home town. It was going well enough, as far as these situations can go - there were points where we felt like we were background music, but these songs are still a treat to play all the same. And then, midway through our second set, three people started shouting - in unison with an aggressive dumbness, "play something we know. Play something we know. Play something we know..."

I looked at them with more contempt than words can describe. I'd even go as far as to say my blood was boiling. It wasn't just what they were saying, it was the way they were saying it - as if they had some kind of divine right to suggest inclusions to our set list. If we were a covers band I'd be more reasonable about this situation, if we were a wedding band I'd also (kind of) understand. But we're an originals band, we'd been playing original music all evening and - you know, without wishing to sound too blunt about the situation, there are plenty of other pubs to drink in, one or two of them may even have a covers band playing. It's the way in which they were struggling to compute with not knowing the song that was being played in front of them - like they were panicking slightly at the thought of accidently being introduced to new music. Seriously; if you want to hear a song you know, go and find a jukebox, or listen to your iPod, if you're that desperate to hear the same songs that you listen to all the time anyway. If we all played the same songs, all the time, forever, no new songs would ever be written. We'd all live in a comfort zone, any creative genes softened and eventually evaporating. The whole thing really annoyed me - perhaps more than it should have done.

That little agitation aside, I'm actually quite happy at the moment. Not content...no, content makes you lazy, but happy enough. I live in a nice house, with a cool housemate, I'm earning okay, I'm drumming for some really exceptional bands at the moment, I'm on a real creative high churning out scripts all over the place, I seem to be meeting beautiful people on a daily basis. Alongside the band stuff (Fred's House and Flaming June are gigging a lot, I'm also gigging every now and then with Trevor Jones, the Dowsing Christmas gig is creeping up, I'm playing some opera shows with Hazel Neighbour, recording/gigging with Grace Williams & The Bare Bones Band alongside my regular collaborator Ali Bunclark and recording with Pillars and Stirling-based songwriter End Of Neil, who I met at the Edinburgh Fringe) the whole playwriting thing is really moving in the right direction - my very latest play, 'Gaps' is being performed by WriteOn at the ADC Theatre next Sunday, the recording of our radio sitcom, 'Technically Single' is turning into a real gem, the Lounge Plays were great fun (listen to them all here: www.soundcloud.com/someplaysbypaulrichards) and of course there is the Christmas tour - rehearsals have been going great, as much as I'm concerned about fitting into my elf costume. Ah yes, and before that, I'm recording a brand new show in Cambridge on 26th November called, 'Short Plays For Lanky People.' That show will feature 10 plays in an hour, it's mostly solo but I'll have some special guests with me to add a little music. I'm busy, and when I'm busy, I'm happy. Just keep me away from idiots.

Gig report: Fred's House @ The Old Queen's Head, Islington, London

Band: Fred's House
Venue: The Old Queen's Head, London
Date: 03/11/13
Audience: Very busy
Set: Take A Ride, Standing Next To Me, Hold On, Beautiful You, Marathon Man, Looking Glass
Notes: I never really enjoy London gigs, but this was a rare exception. Having dashed over straight from the Dowsing band/choir rehearsal, we drove to Islington to play at the very busy Old Queen's Head - a lively bar, even on a Sunday night. The venue itself is upstairs and was so busy we couldn't get to comfortably see the acts on the bill before us because of lack of space so we ended up waiting in the bar area below. Our set was a fast one, with the exception of Hold On, and felt like a rock n roll gig at times. I doubt we'll play, 'Standing Next To Me' that fast again, nearly killed us and Vikki nearly threw up. Audience responded warmly to what we do, absolutely cracking gig in front of lovely people.

Gig report: Fred's House Waterbeach/Portland pub gigs

Band: Fred's House
Venue: The White Horse, Waterbeach/The Black Bull, Godmanchester
Dates: 31/10/13, 01/11/13
Audiences: Busy
Sets: Lots of songs
Notes: Felt right to put these in the same blog post as they were quite similar gigs - pub gigs, with large chunks of covers - paid gigs basically which help fund the album. The White Horse in Waterbeach is a new venue and very nice it is too - decent size, very friendly staff, the locals seemed up for it. It was Halloween so I wore a 'scary' mask throughout most of it, it fell down during one of the faster songs and momentarily I couldn't see or breathe but had to finish the song...got away with it though. Nice little gig that, the more the audience are enthused, the more excitable we play - we ended up playing for a long time because the crowd were so up for it. The White Horse is well worth checking out. A day later we played at The Black Bull, a quieter affair, similar set but to be honest I wasn't feeling this one as much.

Lounge Plays, congas, cowbells and opera

This weekend I finally found myself with something I've been valuably missing recently; writing time. Which is a relief, because I had a lot of projects to write - but as before, I only tend to write when under pressure, and there's no pressure like forthcoming performances. True, so I may have been slightly tired on Saturday morning having driven back from Bristol (via central London, thanks to a diversion of epic proportions) in the early hours - worth it though as finally got to see Graham Parker & The Rumour - the last time they played in the UK I was 1 years old and probably wouldn't have paid attention. We enjoyed the gig so much we saw exactly the same show in London on Saturday evening, and it was just as brilliant. What. A. Band. Anyway, apart from these musical treats, the writing itself was very productive - I found myself switching rooms for different scenes in a bid to find the perfect writing 'zone.' As always, the best writing zone is lying in bed with a laptop, but that's surely not healthy? Anyway, I nailed a brand new script called, 'Privacy' and wrote twenty minutes or so of, 'The Shubber Show' - which is a show I'm writing for Hind Shubber.

On Monday evening I was back in the, 'Lounge Play' zone and performed show number four, 'Thomas Livermore Wouldn't Hurt A Fly' around my mate Phillip's house. Phil's a good mate and, in keeping with this run of shows, a brilliant host. I was happy with this one (and let's be honest, I'm not always happy), it's familiar territory for me - a comedy about a man struggling to write whilst being attacked by 'nature', but with really dark overtones. A brand new piece with a twist I'm rather chuffed with, all in all this was a decent little show I'd like to think. Performed to an audience of six in Phil's lounge, including my good friend, the mighty Rob Toulson who I don't see enough of these days as we're all so busy, also in the audience was an opera singer called Hazel. We joked briefly about forming a band - an opera and conga band - for busking and potential fringe shows, and a day later we'd already found ourselves performing together. On Tuesday it was our regular new material evening at CB2, I looked at, 'Privacy' and realised it wasn't ready for performance so instead rehearsed, 'New Adventures In Sat Nav', we did bits of, 'The Shubber Show', Gulliuame played some wonderful French tunes and Hazel and I tested our collaboration. It shouldn't work, should it? Congas, with lashings of cowbells, and opera vocals? The thing is, Hazel has an incredible voice - honestly, earth-shattering wonderful, it almost scared me how such a voice can come out of such a slender person, and my 'scattered' percussion worked really well alongside it. I haven't got time for another project. But I have to do this one, it's too exciting to dismiss. Plans are afoot.

Tonight I arrived at Jules' house to perform the final, 'Lounge Play.' With, 'New Adventures In Sat Nav' not recording properly in Little Downham, the plan was to perform that one - leaving, 'Privacy' to my large archives of plays I haven't dared to perform. In front of a jolly crowd, '....Sat Nav' worked well, I'm really fond of this piece, and then Jules persuaded me to do the other piece anyway - such was the loveliness of the audience I couldn't really say no. 'Privacy' wasn't so bad - the story really, really works. My performance didn't, it was rushed and garbled, just really unrehearsed. There's something about, 'Privacy' I like, but that recording won't be released - I'll re-work it for another day.

I've said this before, but I'm still a work in progress as a performer, but I really am feeling the progress, it's starting to work. The forthcoming Christmas show will be my best yet, it's an intense concept, an exhausting show, a challenge with singing, magic, costume changes...certainly a busy end to the year in store. Tomorrow I'm back behind the drums, back with Fred's House. I feel creatively fulfilled for the first time in years. Life is good, you know?

Gig report: Fred's House @ NMG Awards - Portland Arms, Cambridge

Band: Fred's House
Venue: The Portland Arms, Cambridge
Date: 24/10/2013
Audience: Sold out, frantic
Set: Last Thing I Wanted, Standing Next To Me
Notes: I seem to be spending a lot of time at the Portland of late, playing and watching gigs, but last night was a bit different - it was the NMG (New Music Generator) awards, there was a red carpet, people wearing jeans were refused entry, no tickets on the door and more punters than you would have thought possible squeezed in. I knew a lot of people there last night, it often felt more like a networking event than a gig, but with a nice party vibe going on. We won two awards - The Audience Choice and Best Folk/Roots act, the second of which caught us by surprise as we assumed our friends The Willows would win that one. We also played a couple tunes in front of a vibrant and excitable audience, and felt very happy about everything. All is very well indeed in Fred's House.

Gig report: Fred's House @ The Waterfront, Norwich

Band: Fred's House
Venue: The Waterfront, Norwich
Dates: 21/10/2013
Audience: A good few of them, very nice
Set: Take A Ride, Face In The Water, Wrong Time, Too Late To Go Home, Hold On, Beautiful You, Marathon Man
Notes: This is the first time I've found Norwich without getting horrendously lost, and also the first time I've not got lost getting out of it either - this makes me happy. It was a happy evening on the whole, actually, we were supporting the fantastic Ahab for a second night running, and at a cracking venue - The Waterfront is blessed with decent acoustics and a top-class soundman. Good crowd in, perhaps a little reserved at first but very attentive and by the end the rapturous applause made us feel very welcome indeed. It's obvious really, but a run of gigs really help a band gel together - our fourth gig in three days and the last two have been absolutely wonderful.

Gig report: Fred's House @ The Portland Arms, Cambridge

Band: Fred's House
Venue: The Portland Arms, Cambridge
Dates: 20/10/2013
Audience: Packed, wonderful
Set: Take A Ride, Too Late To Go Home, Standing Next To Me, Beautiful You, Hold On, Marathon Man
Notes: This is more like it - our third gig of the weekend following Oxjam (bit rushed in the set-up but good fun) and the fresher's ball (spirited, but with some frustrating sound issues), this was a proper great gig. Supporting the incredibly popular Ahab, the Portland was completely packed on Sunday evening and we played to a vibrant yet attentive audience. Strong set, possibly the tightest we've been since I joined, excellent show.

Gig report: Fred's House @ Cambridge Union, Cambridge

Band: Fred's House
Venue: Cambridge Union, Cambridge
Dates: 19/10/2013
Audience: Rammed, drunk, happy
Set: Not sure
Notes: My third gig of the day and second with Fred's House, having had a chance to quickly nip home and freshen up. As a musician you want to play in bigger venues, to bigger crowds, and this was one of those shows. A university gig, this fresher's ball found us performing to a very busy venue, enthusiastic audience, a few sound issues on stage but we play enough now to now how to deal with these situations. Good gig, professional, job done kind of show.

Gig report: Fred's House @ Oxjam - The Emperor, Cambridge

Band: Fred's House
Venue: Oxjam @ The Emperor, Cambridge
Dates: 19/10/2013
Audience: Very busy, enthusiastic
Set: Take A Ride, Face In The Water, Last Thing I Wanted, Standing Next To Me, Hold On, Looking Glass
Notes: I ran from the last gig to the NCP and then sped my way over to this next show of the day, in a very lively Emperor (still an afternoon gig, but unlike the other one this was buzzing - maybe it's a venue thing?). Although indoors, this felt like a proper festival gig - quick changeovers, perhaps slightly rough around the edges performance-wise but with a nice energy and a really happy vibe on stage. Gave the new track, 'Standing Next To Me' it's first airing, sounding great.

Gig report: Flaming June @ Oxjam - The Avery, Cambridge

Band: Flaming June
Venue: Oxjam @ The Avery, Cambridge
Dates: 19/10/2013
Audience: Polite enough
Set: Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, Those Were The Days, Little Love In A Cruel World, Pyscho, Wednesdays & Weekends, In Pursuit Of Happiness (no drums)
Notes: Hungover from a rare night off from gigging (so naturally I was at a gig with friends, followed by a somewhat excessive aftershow party) and straight from a cracking session recording the jazz Christmas album with Grace and Alister (two of my favourite people, it was a joy), I dashed over to The Avery to play the first of my two Oxjam gigs for the day. Afternoon gigs are strange, and the vibe in the room felt that day, very polite but slightly subdued. Still, both Louise and Diane were on cracking form, I enjoyed it a lot despite having to miss the last song to dash to my next gig...

Gig report: The British IBM @ Fab Cafe, Manchester

Band: the British IBM
Venue: Fab Café, Manchester
Dates: 12/10/2013
Audience: Busy
Set: Cannibal, 3 Years, Animal, Sugar Water, Feeling, Bob Noyce, CGE Adventures, The British IBM, Washing Machine
Notes: When you buy a nice-looking new drum kit - be wary of the cheap extras that come with it. My new cocktail kit is an awesome thing, made from top-quality Maplewood, and I like it very much - but some of the hardware isn't so great, and two tracks in to this gig the bass pedal fell apart. I should have known, really, it didn't look the sturdiest, I really should have packed my sturdy Tama Speed Cobra pedal instead as that'll never break but still...a learning curve, and an obstacle quite early on in the show. Actually the kit itself was fine, it perhaps won't cut it in a bigger venue but the retro-themed Fab Café was intimate enough for us to cut it and performance wise I became more of a percussionist using the floor-tom with my right hand for any bass beats. The cocktail kit is a marvellous thing - a kit you can play standing up, a kit that fits in your boot, I'm very fond of it already. This was the first and last British IBM gig for a while; Aidy and Dave spent the whole weekend at a retro games fest in Manchester and I turned up for the gig side of things which was the aftershow party for the retro gamers. Gig itself felt a bit flat, that always the danger of one-off gigs because sometimes you need a few to hit your stride despite being well rehearsed, but some of it (CGE Adventures, for example) sounded great.

Gig report: Flaming June @ The Portland Arms, Cambridge

Band: Flaming June
Venue: The Portland Arms, Cambridge
Dates: 11/10/2013
Audience: Busy, nice enough
Set: Not sure
Notes: My good friend Gav organised this special event to raise awareness of mental health. The format of the evening was us, some guest speakers, and then Rockaoke - basically karaoke only with a live band. Although on early and back down to a duo as Dianne was ill, Louise and I enjoyed a decent set in front of a busy Portland audience. Played some new tracks ahead of recording the next release early next year, alongside some of the older favourites - all performed with plenty of energy and passion. The event itself was a cracker, and deservedly rammed by the end, full credit to Gav and his hard working band (Up & Atom) for such a worthy and fun show.

Technically Single recording/Lounge Plays in Bristol/Ely

Last Thursday we started recording, 'Technically Single' - a little radio/podcast sitcom I've had stashed away for a while now. I originally wrote the pilot last year, which worked a treat, so then spent a fair bit of January working on another three episodes. A majority of this team - Izzy Rees, Abi Sage, Alan Hay and our techie Paul Malpas had been on-board from the start, but the problem with working with such quality actors is, as I've discovered, their availability. Alan and Abi in particular seemingly spend most of their lives on stage, whilst Izzy had lots of Paul Richards shows (poor girl) and a production of Calendar Girls filling up her schedule. Finally, though - mostly thanks to Paul M's determination to make this happen - we've managed to block out five Thursday evenings in a row to bring this project to life. The final piece of the production jigsaw was actor Robin Owen, who I'd met for the first time at the recording - he arrived highly recommended by Izzy; turns out he's just been in a show with Alan and he lives three minutes down the road from me. Robin's performance as Tom fits perfectly, with his confident yet awkward portrayal the perfect foil for Alan's wonderfully annoying turn as Ian. Izzy and Abi are top-notch, bringing their characters to life with ease and without stereotyping. The first session - recorded in Paul's little studio space, flowed suspiciously well. I'm really confident about this, and it's so incredibly nice not to be a performer in this one either - sometimes you just have to hand over your work to the pro's. If the next few weeks work as well this show will be launched in time for Christmas. I'm hoping there's enough buzz about this, enough demand, to warrant a second series as I love writing for these characters, and of course these actors.

On the other end of the professionalism scale, I've been performing a few more, 'Lounge Plays.' With, 'Technically Single' being tight and polished, my solo shows - recorded in a lounge on my iPhone, are messy, rambling affairs, but I'd like to think somehow they work just as well. The freedom of it, the slightly unpredictable nature of my performance, the intimacy...it's a scary thrill. On Saturday I was in Bristol performing Lounge Play number 2 - 'How I Lost My Trousers.' Hosted by my very close friend Matt (who is a brilliant host, it should be noted), it was a very friendly little show, the material perhaps darker than the title suggested, but a nice little story. Last night I was in Little Downham, performing, 'New Adventures In Sat Nav' - a show so new I'd finished writing it yesterday morning. With a, shall we say, slightly mature audience, I cut the swearing and enjoyed entertaining the locals - I was made to feel very welcome indeed. Two more Lounge Plays to go, possibly three, with offers coming in for 2014 already. A bit like the solo show at the fringe, I'm learning a lot about myself during these shows, gradually finding my own voice. It's a ranty voice, that sounds like I have a cold, but it's mine.

Some Plays @ Preston Tringe

Two full UK tours, a successful Edinburgh Fringe run and a few other performances later, last night we said goodbye to my, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' show. A show which has been good to me; it was initially my first attempt at a 'solo' show (although of course it ended up being a solo-ish piece), it was the first time where my character was called Paul Richards. I did this show to prove to myself that I could. Personal plays, but with punchlines, I grew a lot as a performer with this piece - perhaps sometimes it was a public learning curve, but it all worked out well. Initially I toured it with the brilliant Claudia McKenzie (the busiest musician I know, amazingly this was her acting debut), and then with the also brilliant Hind Shubber (probably my tour buddy for the next few years now, if not longer - she gets what I'm trying to achieve here, and enjoys it too). By the final performance last night I was very much on auto-pilot, this is perhaps how a show should be anyway - a confidence on stage which in turn helps the audience feel confident that they are watching a 'proper' show. So the final performance was in Preston - as part of the Preston Tringe. A small, but impeccably run festival, the whole vibe of the Tringe was summed up by our event; our venue had gone bust, but instead of letting us go, they worked hard to find a solution. The solution was, quite brilliantly, for us to do the show in somebody's garden. Our host was a cracking chap called Tarquin - and he very kindly built a theatre for us in his garden, with our performance space being the garage (although it looked like a proper studio theatre space), with full lights, seating, the works. We felt so incredibly welcome by Tarquin - despite the fact I had a heavy cold so was a more than a bit snotty, it was a thoroughly lovely evening, the audience were lovely, they tipped generously, it was a genuine joy to perform in front of them. After our show we went out with various members of the audience to catch another show at the 'Tringe, had a few beers, before crashing out in our little hotel. All in all, a surreal but brilliant event - the evident love that goes into the Preston Tringe is a real credit to Sam the organiser.

So, no more, 'Some Plays' - but the next stop for this concept is, er, 'Some Christmas Plays By Paul Richards.' December tour dates piling in, back on the road with Hind for that one, and potentially even a return trip to Preston too - good times.

Gig report: Fred's House @ Creative Cabaret, Cambridge (2 night run)

Band: Fred's House
Venue: Creative Cabaret @ Cambridge Union, Cambridge
Dates: 26/09/13 - 27/09/13
Audience: Sell out show - the first night very nice, the second night incredible
Set: Can't remember - the setlist changed/got lost throughout both gigs to suit the feel
Notes: The whole '2 night run' thing appeals to me very much, I like the idea of shows rather than gigs - and that's exactly what Creative Cabaret is; a proper show. With a mime artist, solo acoustic artist, comedian, magician and us. Two night run because the first night had sold so quickly, these are the kind of gigs that I both enjoy and get slightly wary of just before the show because it's a sit-down audience, watching you...nearly fall off a small stage. A couple things were against us for the first show; Vicky had just recovered from tonsillitis, we were without our lead guitarist Lachy for both shows as he was off filming, the stage was so incredibly small even for a four-piece band, and there was a noise restrictor...meaning that as soon as we got too loud, the power cut. My bass drum, a 22" beast instantly caused problems, and the first performance was a real test of our restraint - the lighter material was chosen, I was more of a percussionist than drummer, we got away with it - the audience responded incredibly well, but it was a bit of a challenge. Going into the second show though it was easier (see? The joy of two night runs) as we knew what we were dealing with - and we arrived to see the stage had actually been moved so the noise restrictor wouldn't be an issue for us (instead, if we went too loud half the audience were plunged into darkness - I think this happened three times during the 30 minute set). The second show really was a cracker, maybe it was a Friday night thing but there was a real vibrancy in the air, the audience were so spirited. As a band, whilst obviously missing Lachy, we really were on good form - by the end of the show chairs from the somewhat civilised cabaret show were abandoned as the audience danced, the whole thing turned into madness - in the best possible way. 2 encores later, we finally left the stage, to a host of gig offers. Great gig that one, really, really great.

Recording the jazz record/the first glimmers of Christmas

After a busy weekend of gigging (and writing frantically, ahead of the show tonight - more of that later), I was back in the studio on Sunday and Monday recording with Rohan Leach and Chris Lawrenson to complete our little instrumental jazz record. Written - but with enough scope for improvisation, recorded live within three takes but with overdubs, this was a really organic way to produce a piece of work - that we're all really proud of. Aided by top engineer/producer Bugs (who I've worked with a lot over the last year or so, he produced the British IBM album and also the forthcoming Fred's House release), the sound is bright, the playing is manic - it's jazz in it's loosest sense and there was a feeling that we all hit top form during these sessions. What started out as a bit of an experiment (this project initially came about when a big bunch of us went out for dinner earlier in the year and I got chatting Rohan) has turned into 5 high-energy, punchy, very clever, very original tunes. It's also very different to anything I've played on before. We're currently debating what to call it, but as soon as we've agreed on that (it may take a while...) we'll get it released and see where it goes. Maybe a gig or two in the future, hopefully anyway.

So tonight we're back to our regular new material sessions - we (Izzy and myself) do these once a month, but have had a bit of time off due to the Edinburgh shows etc. I'm quite looking forward to it, the fringe naturally inspired me a lot and as a result I've been writing constantly on my return. Most of the bits and bobs I've been working on have been with the rest of the 'Lounge Plays' in mind - which obviously means they're solo shows (tonight I'll give, 'How I Lost My Trousers' a go - that one is being recorded in Bristol in October), but we're also trying out a short slapstick comedy, 'You Lost Me At Hello' - it's a real farce, with Izzy and myself in loads of roles. The punchline is dreadful, so bad...but intentionally so. I write too much about relationships, and the intricate details of how they do and don't work - for this one I just wanted to take a slightly more relaxed view on the matter with characters saying exactly how they feel and avoiding the social awkwardness which often litters these situations. We'll see, it's effectively a sketch, but I think it's a nice one. Anyway, 8pm at CB2 in Cambridge if you read this before the show.

But whilst writing this material I can't help but notice we're nearing the end of September, and Christmas is suddenly creeping up once again. I've started booking tour dates for a new Christmas show (some familiar venues, some less familiar - should be a good 9 day run), band rehearsals for the Dowsing Christmas Cocktail kick in next week, and on Wednesday I'm meeting Grace for a bite to eat and to discuss a very festive project indeed - it's just a case of finding the time to do it properly. I hope so, though, Grace is a wonderful actress/singer and a close friend with big ideas. If I can squeeze these ideas in alongside the Dowsing jams, Fred's House gigs, recording sessions for the second British IBM album, Lounge Plays and tour show, I will. And besides, Christmas is brilliant, isn't it? I need very little motivation to do festive things.

Gig report: Fred's House @ Corpus Christie College, Cambridge

Band: Fred's House
Venue: Corpus Christie College, Cambridge
Date: 21/09/13
Audience: Looked happy enough
Set: An hour or so of tunes
Notes: This show was a charity event for Tom's Trust, the event was a black tie bash within the beautiful grounds of Corpus Christie College in Cambridge. We'd dashed over from Folkstock, I quite like doing the whole three shows in one day thing - Folkstock was nice but bloody miles away, so ending the day with a gig closer to home is always a bonus. We played for an hour, outdoors, nice weather. Ignored, as expected - it's an early evening show and we were effectively the backing to a drinks reception, but I'm really enjoying being in this band - and gigs like this allow us to try out some songs I don't know perhaps quite as well as the established set. People responded occasionally, all very positive. After the gig the porter very kindly allowed us to leave our cars onsite, and we went to an excellent Thai restaurant for good food and banter. On returning, the new porter - and a member of staff - had issues with us and our cars being left there and things went weird for a bit. We played this gig for free, we gave up our time for free, we're very busy people - I'm not entirely sure why leaving our cars for an hour became such an issue. Luckily, in our bassist Gaffyn we have a man who is very much the voice of reasoning and the situation was eventually defused thanks to his professionalism, but I drove away with a sour taste in my mouth.

Gig repot: Folkstock, Hertfordshire

Bands: Fred's House, Flaming June
Venue: Folkstock Festival, Hertfordshire
Date: 21/09/13
Audience: A nice few of them to make it work
Set: Fred's House - Wrong Time, Norwegian Wood, Too Late To Go Home, Fine Life, Beautiful You; Flaming June - Rejoice, Stop The Ride, Rumplestiltskin, Nerves Of Steel, Little Love In A Cruel World, Wednesday's And Weekends, In Pursuit Of Happiness
Notes: This one has been brewing for a while; Folkstock is a shiny new festival targeting lovers of, well, folk music, with over 70 acts crammed into one day across three stages in deepest Hertfordshire. Lovingly organised by Helen - a friend (and sometime manager) of Flaming June, she certainly squeezed a lot of entertainment in; I wasn't able to hang around the site for too long but from what I did see it was pretty much act after act, so plenty to see. Such is the quickfire nature of the event, sets were kept short - and such is the nature of the soundman not letting me use a bass drum, my 'kit' was simply a snare and a conga. Still - both Fred's House and Flaming June put on good shows, in front of an enthusiastic audience in the slightly rainy countryside. I had to dash after the Flaming June set to play another show elsewhere, but from what I saw there's some good vibes about Folkstock, I hope it returns in 2014.

Gig report: Fred's House @ The Old Lion, Harborough Magna

Band: Fred's House
Venue: The Old Lion, Harborough Magna
Date: 20/09/13
Audience: Seated, but lively
Set: Lots of songs, lots and lots
Notes: This is one of those gigs where we had absolutely no idea what to expect - a venue miles away in what looked like the middle of nowhere, a booking from somebody who had seen the band (before I joined) at a festival...but this was absolutely wonderful. It was effectively a restaurant gig, a very different kind of show for us - great setting, the restaurant itself was packed, we were tucked in the corner playing two long sets of original tunes and the odd cover. The result was a sophisticated, controlled Fred's House performance - but not at all restrained. Lots of life, the band on really top form aided by a wonderful and enthusiastic audience who, despite eating, were vocal in their enjoyment of what we do. On a personal level, replacing my floor tom with a conga and alternating between drums and percussion (often in the same song) worked a treat and suited the FH sound more than ever. Perfect gig.   

Lounge Plays - show 1, plus Fred's House recording

That was a pleasantly exhausting weekend. On Friday night I played a private function gig with Fred's House in Cambridge, it rained a lot but we got fed very nice food and the people seemed friendly, in a strange kind of way it still worked really well and kept us fresh for the recording the next day. When I first recorded some drum takes for the band earlier this year it was a bit of an odd one; technically spot on, but it seemed to be lacking a bit of spirit, the performance was perfectly in time and as rehearsed, but just a bit too static. This time around though we lost the click track and went for a more live approach - the freedom helped the songs breath, and over the course of a two days recording at Half Ton Studios with producer Bugs some pretty awesome grooves were created, if I may say so myself. 'Take A Ride' has now turned very soulful, away from the caffeinated way it's performed live, this new feel to it sounds absolutely brilliant, as does the whole project. There's a lot to be done yet, but this album should be very worthwhile.

In between the recording sessions, I popped down to Hackney to celebrate my good friend Ben's birthday, which was a nice and typically surreal evening - this one involved a drinking game whilst watching Japanese horse racing. Later in the evening I went to sleep in my sleeping bag on the sofa, only to wake myself up by falling off that sofa and smacking my head against a very sturdy table. I have a nice mark next to my eye as a reminder, and two days later it's finally stopped hurting - although I imagine the hangover was also partly responsible for that.

Last night, after a second day of recording, I dashed home, put on my best suit, and then drove over to Newnham - where I was to record the first in a series of six podcasts called, 'Lounge Plays.' This is a new idea I had at the fringe, partly as a way of getting to new audiences, but mostly because it's just fun to perform shows in the most unconventional places possible. For these shows, I'll be performing a different solo play in different lounges - the audience are whoever the host invites, it's recorded on a fancy bit of software I downloaded for my iPhone, and it's all very personal. It's all very intimidating - but it's healthy to feel scared sometimes, and after a fringe run where I performed solo in a big and often near-empty venue, this suddenly felt like a completely different challenge. This show was always intended to be my October project, but for the first one I had to nudge things forward a bit as my friend Julia (a former colleague, somebody who has been to pretty much every play I've performed in the last two years, and just generally one of the best people I've ever met) wanted a show - but is moving to Australia this week for (at least) 10 months. Last night I performed the fringe solo show, 'Things Could Be Marvellous' in front of her, her parents, her sister Emily, some family friends and a couple of her friends I already knew (Cara, Jess). 13 people, crammed into the kitchen, with quite high expectations (Julia had been singing my praises before I arrived), but in good spirits thanks to the food and wine provided by our wonderful host. One very worried writer/actor, feeling slightly out of his depth. I had barely looked at the script in a month, but you know...it all worked out, really well. Possibly the nicest audience I've ever performed in front of - so close to the action but so warm, so generous with their laughter, the time just flew by - it helped my performance, confidence grew as the show progressed, a really incredible vibe that I've never experienced before.

I spent the rest of the evening chatting to various people in the house - there's a real sense that I'm really progressing as a writer, people really seem to like the whole solo thing. Julia's mum pointed out how expressive my (huge) hands are and how it helps the performance - I wasn't aware of this. Cara continually reminded me how brave the solo concept is, that girl has seen me in some really substandard performances over the years so I'm glad she managed to catch a good one. I really enjoyed chatting to Jess, she's a very inspiring young lady - she's living her dreams, fulfilling her ambitions. And Julia - well, Julia will be missed.

'Things Could Be Marvellous' worked - it worked better than it ever did in Edinburgh. Shame that was the last ever performance of that play, but it's time to move on. The next five, 'Lounge Plays' are all brand new shows, I'm writing them as we speak. I'll be in Bristol, Downham Market and two different houses in Cambridge, with one more date to be booked up, once they're all done I'll stick them all up online. For an opening show this was in theory the easiest it's going to get - a really friendly audience, a show I've performed plenty of times, a nice way of easing myself into my most challenging project yet.