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.