Midnight Sessions

I’ll go back on what I said a few weeks back about not having a to-do list; I’ve bloody well gone and started one but thankfully things are being ticked off very nicely indeed. One of the ideas I’ve had for a while now is to record an overnight album, an idea that came about when I noticed that studio owner Adrian at the brilliant Sham Studios in Somersham was offering overnight sessions for a very reasonable fee. So on Saturday we took advantage of this situation and I gathered some of my best friends – Trevor Jones (singer/guitarist), Ali Bunclark (piano/producer) and Chris Lawrenson (bassist/chef) to form a makeshift band (with myself – drums/energy drinks, of course). The plan was really simple; to record a late night soul album. You know, the kind of album you’d want to listen to when driving back at 2am on big empty roads. Something soothing, but with a twist of quirkiness. Between Trevor and Ali we had enough equipment to turn the large rehearsal space into a studio, and at 10pm we started recording. By 6am we had 12 tracks – 10 of which were really very lovely indeed (and 2 which were perfectly in time and pleasant enough but probably won’t make the cut). By 7.30am I was home (having found ourselves locked in the grounds of the studio for a bit, hence the delay between finishing and getting out). People keep asking about why I’m not tired and in theory I should be – I’d barely slept at all that weekend (on Friday played a storming gig with The Prisoner Of Mars in Cambridge, Saturday I was too awake making plans), but when you’re in a spacious studio, surrounded by outstanding musicians at the top of their game, with tunes and ideas flowing, the hours to literally fly by. The release is to be simply called, ‘Midnight Sessions’ and this band are known now as Bleary Eyed By Dawn. I haven’t heard the final recordings yet, but at the time it felt like a world beater. If it’s any good we’ll release it in the summer.

January has been a fruitfully creative month; I’ve written and filmed/edited four episodes of a little sitcom with Izzy (to be launched end of February), I’ve written the first draft of my Edinburgh show (first reading of it tonight), I’ve recorded the album as mentioned above, I’ve spent good time in the studio finishing the jazz project with Pillars and I’ve gigged with Fred’s House and Prisoner Of Mars. I’ve also confirmed my Edinburgh fringe run and booked tour dates in May/July and had very interesting meetings about a few other little projects. Next up – a film, a novel and a musical. Possibly in that order. Plus of course the Fred’s House UK tour in March/April is looming. So far though; 2014 – one month in, you’ve started well. Keep it up.

Currently reading: Harry Redknapp – Always Managing

Currently watching: Uncle, House Of Fools, Dad’s Army

Currently listening to: Hospitality – Trouble; The Cinematic Orchestra – Live At The Royal Albert Hall; Sophie Ellis-Bexter – Wanderlust (I’m not generally a Sophie EB fan but when I heard this was co-written by the genius that is Ed Harcourt I thought I’d give it a go – it’s a wonderful, mature, adult, theatrical piece of work, an absolute gem – I defy anyone to listen to, ‘Young Blood’ and deny it’s anything but perfection.)