Band: The British IBM
Venue: Hope And Anchor, London
Date: 23/09/12
Audience: Friendly
Set: Make It Happen, Pain In My Heart, Animal, Sugar Water, The British IBM, Cannibal, 3 Years, Washing Machine
Notes: We've been reluctant to play London recently, preferring instead to play in other cities/towns in the country where we could make more of a mark, but the chance to headline this prestigious venue was too good to turn down. Great performance space, nice house kit to play on, good sound on and off the stage, managed to get the train in from the small village I live in and meet the guys at Kings Cross - it was such an easy gig to do. That was possibly the reason why we were just a little bit slack - some good friends were there (Rob, Matt, Izzy, James) so a little alcohol indulgence was in order, and we all came off stage knowing that we hadn't really played that well. The thing is, as I've said before, we know we're a really strong band - we've been gigging a while now with two tours and we're very rehearsed, so even when we're not quite hitting our full stride we put on a good show and those who were there to watch us really seemed to love it. I just know how good we can be, if my memory serves me correctly I dropped three beats in the whole gig - but that's three beats more than I should have dropped, it's just good enough. Apart from our actual slightly ramshackle performance it was a really nice evening though.
Sunday 23 September 2012
Tuesday 18 September 2012
Gig report: Trevor Jones @ Black Bull Festival, Godmanchester
Band: Trevor Jones
Venue: The Black Bull Festival, Godmanchester
Date: 15/09/12
Audience: Drunk, brilliant
Set: Not sure of the order - usual set with the omission of Solid Ground
Notes: This was a really brilliant gig - and even more so because on arrival they looked like the kind of audience who wouldn't like us. The festival, held at our regular venue of The Black Bull, had been on since 1pm, so by the time we went on - 8.20pm, a majority of the audience were hammered. Although there were plenty of acoustic acts on the bill, a lot of the bands on our stage - the electric stage, were of a heavier rock vibe, and somehow I just felt our acoustic-led pop would unsettle the audience. I was proved wrong though as they got into it from the start, and as a trio (Trev, Tony and myself) we really got into it, more so than we have done in ages, can't work out why - sometimes an audience like that just helps things. The sound on and off stage was great, the kit was lovely to play and I really hit my stride, it was just a really fantastic little gig to play and Allan's Promotions deserve credit for running it so well. We've been in the studio for the last couple of nights recording and haven't quite hit that level of performance again I feel, but the sessions continue again soon and I've got a sneaky, and slightly arrogant, feeling that we will.
Venue: The Black Bull Festival, Godmanchester
Date: 15/09/12
Audience: Drunk, brilliant
Set: Not sure of the order - usual set with the omission of Solid Ground
Notes: This was a really brilliant gig - and even more so because on arrival they looked like the kind of audience who wouldn't like us. The festival, held at our regular venue of The Black Bull, had been on since 1pm, so by the time we went on - 8.20pm, a majority of the audience were hammered. Although there were plenty of acoustic acts on the bill, a lot of the bands on our stage - the electric stage, were of a heavier rock vibe, and somehow I just felt our acoustic-led pop would unsettle the audience. I was proved wrong though as they got into it from the start, and as a trio (Trev, Tony and myself) we really got into it, more so than we have done in ages, can't work out why - sometimes an audience like that just helps things. The sound on and off stage was great, the kit was lovely to play and I really hit my stride, it was just a really fantastic little gig to play and Allan's Promotions deserve credit for running it so well. We've been in the studio for the last couple of nights recording and haven't quite hit that level of performance again I feel, but the sessions continue again soon and I've got a sneaky, and slightly arrogant, feeling that we will.
Wednesday 12 September 2012
Recording times
After a summer of dashing about everywhere it feels really good to be drumming in the studio again. See, as much as I love the thrill of live work (as a musician, writer, actor) there's always a sad sense that when it's done, it's done - with no or very little record of it. Now though I enter a few months where I'll be on stage less and recording more - and as a writer we (Izzy and myself) will be focusing more on radio projects. A good recording can go a long way - I'm really proud to be on the British IBM album - my dad believes it's the best thing I've ever been on and my dad is always right, yet that was one of the very few studio sessions I've done this year, unlike 2011 when I was seemingly in the studio all the time.
This weekend we recorded the backing music for a Christmas album I'm devising. Can't go into too many details about the concept of the project (for many reasons, the main one being I haven't finished writing it yet and it's likely to change a million times before I feel comfortable), but it is effectively a theatre/music crossover (but not a musical), utilising some classic Christmas tunes nicely rearranged as the backing track to the drama. For this I called upon a few good friends who also happen to be outstanding musicians; Alister Bunclark, Clare Calder and Steve Calder, and, aided by Una the enthusiastic puppy, we recorded the music in one fairly lengthy, live session. Alister, Clare and Steve really are brilliant musicians - and so versatile too, and on the record we have piano, double bass, strings, flute, saxophone alongside my percussion...I don't think 'Jingle Bells' has ever sounded so worldly. Felt slightly strange recording Christmas songs in early September, but it also felt bloody good.
A couple days later I was back in the studio recording with Louise and producer Rob for the new Flaming June EP. This one really is a quite dramatic leap (in places) from the last EP, but I now get why Louise has done this - the last EP was very successful and even won an award but why replicate it? It's sounding brilliant (quite a lot has been done already), the folk roots are still very much there but it just feels more electric (whilst remaining largely acoustic), it's sounding big already. On top of the congas I've added a bass drum, snare, hi-hat and ride cymbal - so yep, a full kit, but all recorded separately as each one is being treated as an individual percussional sound in the mix. I think this EP will be a while yet as everything is being done carefully, but it will really be worth the wait.
Next week work continues on the Trevor Jones album back at Half Ton with the most patient engineer on the planet, Matty Moon, and there's also the new Eureka Stockade album in the pipeline - Rob and Andy have 16 new songs, and at some point I'll be in to drum all over them, marvellous stuff.
Anyway, best get back to trying to learn how to cook. Since coming back from the fringe I feel refreshed and looking forward to some new creative challenges, with a new website, the launch of the new theatre company (Fat Fox) with Izzy which will be amazing, finally getting my novel out there, some new plays, some new recordings and yep, going to try and cook too. That's the bit I'm really struggling with to be honest, but we all knew that was going to be the case, yes?
This weekend we recorded the backing music for a Christmas album I'm devising. Can't go into too many details about the concept of the project (for many reasons, the main one being I haven't finished writing it yet and it's likely to change a million times before I feel comfortable), but it is effectively a theatre/music crossover (but not a musical), utilising some classic Christmas tunes nicely rearranged as the backing track to the drama. For this I called upon a few good friends who also happen to be outstanding musicians; Alister Bunclark, Clare Calder and Steve Calder, and, aided by Una the enthusiastic puppy, we recorded the music in one fairly lengthy, live session. Alister, Clare and Steve really are brilliant musicians - and so versatile too, and on the record we have piano, double bass, strings, flute, saxophone alongside my percussion...I don't think 'Jingle Bells' has ever sounded so worldly. Felt slightly strange recording Christmas songs in early September, but it also felt bloody good.
A couple days later I was back in the studio recording with Louise and producer Rob for the new Flaming June EP. This one really is a quite dramatic leap (in places) from the last EP, but I now get why Louise has done this - the last EP was very successful and even won an award but why replicate it? It's sounding brilliant (quite a lot has been done already), the folk roots are still very much there but it just feels more electric (whilst remaining largely acoustic), it's sounding big already. On top of the congas I've added a bass drum, snare, hi-hat and ride cymbal - so yep, a full kit, but all recorded separately as each one is being treated as an individual percussional sound in the mix. I think this EP will be a while yet as everything is being done carefully, but it will really be worth the wait.
Next week work continues on the Trevor Jones album back at Half Ton with the most patient engineer on the planet, Matty Moon, and there's also the new Eureka Stockade album in the pipeline - Rob and Andy have 16 new songs, and at some point I'll be in to drum all over them, marvellous stuff.
Anyway, best get back to trying to learn how to cook. Since coming back from the fringe I feel refreshed and looking forward to some new creative challenges, with a new website, the launch of the new theatre company (Fat Fox) with Izzy which will be amazing, finally getting my novel out there, some new plays, some new recordings and yep, going to try and cook too. That's the bit I'm really struggling with to be honest, but we all knew that was going to be the case, yes?
Tuesday 11 September 2012
Gig report: Jon Orchard @ The Royal Oak, St Ives
Band:
Jon Orchard (acoustic duo)
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 09/09/12
Audience: Lively
Set: Lots of covers
Notes: A nice if rare gig with Mr Orchard. Sunday night gigs are always a tricky one - half of the audience are there for a quiet drink to conclude the weekend, the other half are getting hammered to try and forget about the impending Monday. Either way, everyone seemed to enjoy it - mostly thanks to Jon's choice of songs, he has a repertoire that consists of real crowd pleasers and from a percussionists point of a view it was a pretty easy gig to play musically. Hard work at times though because it was such a long show, but when you're playing good songs, with a good fellow musician, in front of a lively crowd the time just flies by.
Venue: The Royal Oak, St Ives
Date: 09/09/12
Audience: Lively
Set: Lots of covers
Notes: A nice if rare gig with Mr Orchard. Sunday night gigs are always a tricky one - half of the audience are there for a quiet drink to conclude the weekend, the other half are getting hammered to try and forget about the impending Monday. Either way, everyone seemed to enjoy it - mostly thanks to Jon's choice of songs, he has a repertoire that consists of real crowd pleasers and from a percussionists point of a view it was a pretty easy gig to play musically. Hard work at times though because it was such a long show, but when you're playing good songs, with a good fellow musician, in front of a lively crowd the time just flies by.
Sunday 2 September 2012
Lodestar Festival 2012
The Lodestar Festival is awesome - it's a growing music festival just outside of Cambridge that I have the privilege of being the Director Of Theatre for. I'm not long back from spending the whole of my weekend at this year's event and once again I'm just amazed by how lovely the whole festival is, so incredibly friendly. This is my third year with Lodestar and in short my role is to book the comedy/theatre acts for the second stage - I'd like to think that every year our line-up is getting just a little bit better and although I was honestly worried about how this one would work out it really did, brilliantly. My fears were that we had to re-schedule a couple of the acts at really short notice, such short notice that programmes had been printed already with the wrong information (it's a festival - it's bound to happen sometimes with this many acts), but there were no worries really at the end of the day - we put plenty of acts on, people walked in to our tent and enjoyed them. The tent this year was a circus style big-top tent and was absolutely perfect - a good distance from the main stage so no chance of being drowned out by the bands, and undercover so no chance of being drowned in the rain.
Alongside booking the non-music stuff, two of my own pieces were performed; There's Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Oscar Pike on the Saturday, and You Don't Miss Your Water today - Sunday. This has always been scheduled as the final performance of this Oscar show - having started our little adventure a couple months back in Bristol before Cambridge (twice), London and of course the Edinburgh Fringe, it's a show that really has developed nicely along the way. Saturday felt like a challenge at first - due to the size of the stage (huge), the distance between us and the audience, and due to both of these things the fact that we had to do the show with radio mics so we would be heard. That's a first for me as a performer, and it took a couple minutes to adjust, but we soon settled into it. In a strange kind of way it felt like an important performance - there was a pretty big crowd there to watch us, bigger than any of the previous showings, yet we hadn't rehearsed since the fringe. But we know this show inside out now and if anything it was one of our most comfortable performances yet, even if (in the final scene where I knock the 'David' picture over) I did smash the photo frame with glass everywhere, that almost felt like a spectacular conclusion to this production. Izzy and Grace were both fantastic - they seemed relaxed enough pretty much straight from the start. Waiting before the show, in character (ie; in my pyjamas) I looked at the audience and there was a real sense of expectation in the air, I found out later on our play was announced on the main stage by the lovely people at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire who recommended us, hence why we suddenly had a big turnout. As I was pacing about around the back, people in the audience could see us and a couple even took pictures; difficult to explain but for the first time I actually felt like a 'proper' performer, this was a 'proper' act, that people wanted to see. I got a buzz out of that. I don't think there can be any more Oscar Pike shows though unless I suddenly get a big idea, feels like I've done all I can with this character. Either way, it went down well, and quite a few strangers (including a random bunch of girls who approached me later in the evening at the festival) praised the quality of the piece. A good day for my ego.
Today we debuted a comedy musical I had written as a vehicle for Bristol-based blues band, The Outlines. This has been on the cards for a while now, The Outlines were keen to play the festival so I suggested that I write a script to go alongside their awesome tunes and we can make a proper theatre show out of it. I only know one Outline - the legendary Matt Corrall, but the whole band went along with this idea. I then kind of ran out of time when it came to writing the script, and although the format and structure had been knocking about in my head for a couple weeks I didn't finish writing the thing until the early hours of Thursday morning. It took 6 hours to write...it shouldn't have worked really, but 'You Don't Miss Your Water' really did. A majority of the cast, and the band, only saw the script for the first time yesterday morning, that was how tight we were cutting things...we had a slightly worrying run-through on a patch of field before Oscar Pike, and then this morning did the same thing again, with most of us having hangovers. The rehearsals - well, I think 'rehearsals' is probably an exaggeration, these were just a chance to get vaguely familiar with the script, were worrying. So why did it work in the performance? Simple really; The Outlines are a brilliant - and more importantly, likable, band that have songs that work so well in this medium, and we had a cracking cast of Izzy, Abi, Alan, Vaughan and Kevin, who were just so open to the 'anything can happen' nature of this show, a joy to work with. There were glimmers of really, really perfect moments in the production, mostly thanks to Vaughan's slightly erratic dancing, and none of which were apparent in the rehearsal, and the band were super-tight, that was apparent in the rehearsal. Yeah, it was thrown together at short notice and could have looked that way to some of the audience, but with a lot of enthusiasm and charm that made me proud. And I have to admit, considering it only took 6 hours to write, I was rather happy with the script - it's as cheesy as anything, but with some nice lines and serves it's purpose perfectly. But in lesser hands it wouldn't have worked - with The Outlines and that cast it did, but then again if you put that much talent on one stage you can't really fail, can you?
Not that it was all about us/me of course; our stage was littered with treats. Helen Arney, in particular - I know she's a mate so I'm biased, but she was outstanding on Saturday, playing at midday it could have gone either way but she played a truely delightful set and the audience lapped it up. Other great stuff - Custard Comedy (a really fine range of new comedians), Rosie Wilby, The Cambridge Improv Factory, The Gamlingay Players. We also caught a bit of Bob Geldof's headline set on the main stage, and watched some burlesque which made me feel all awkward.
Over the years I've started to go off music festivals, big and small, mostly because they're hard work sometimes - they get overcrowded, rowdy, uncomfortable. But Lodestar is different - it is without question the nicest festival in the country, with really good quality acts (gutted that due to my comittments I couldn't really catch much of the music on the main stage but whenever I did pass it looked wonderful, The Go Team on Friday night were outstanding), and all the simple things we forget about like reasonably priced beer and plenty of different food options. It's a festival where you can stretch out a bit, it's on a really attractive site and it's run by geniuene, honest people. And selfishly, it's a great creative outlet for me too - Doug the director gives me a lot of freedom to book the acts I want and to put on my own work, and I'm grateful for this. I'm also knackered though as it kicks into life four days after the Edinburgh Fringe, and tonight - our final night - we chickened out and left at 6pm, my brain is frazzled from a manic couple of weeks and I admit - I've run out of steam. My friends are as nice as the festival by the way, whilst I've been running around worrying about the acts they do great things like set up my tent for me, and even take it down, it's almost like they know I'm not a typical outdoor type.
I think I'm happy right now, I'm knackered but when I wake up a bit I think I'll realise I am happy - it's been a good couple of months what with the musical, the tour, the fringe, the festival. It's weird not suddenly having to dash about somewhere, my inbox is cleared for the first time this year. Time for new projects, I have many ideas both theatrically and musically, and many ideas of who I want to do them with. And Christmas seems to be creeping up on us too...this quiet period won't last for long, phew!
Alongside booking the non-music stuff, two of my own pieces were performed; There's Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Oscar Pike on the Saturday, and You Don't Miss Your Water today - Sunday. This has always been scheduled as the final performance of this Oscar show - having started our little adventure a couple months back in Bristol before Cambridge (twice), London and of course the Edinburgh Fringe, it's a show that really has developed nicely along the way. Saturday felt like a challenge at first - due to the size of the stage (huge), the distance between us and the audience, and due to both of these things the fact that we had to do the show with radio mics so we would be heard. That's a first for me as a performer, and it took a couple minutes to adjust, but we soon settled into it. In a strange kind of way it felt like an important performance - there was a pretty big crowd there to watch us, bigger than any of the previous showings, yet we hadn't rehearsed since the fringe. But we know this show inside out now and if anything it was one of our most comfortable performances yet, even if (in the final scene where I knock the 'David' picture over) I did smash the photo frame with glass everywhere, that almost felt like a spectacular conclusion to this production. Izzy and Grace were both fantastic - they seemed relaxed enough pretty much straight from the start. Waiting before the show, in character (ie; in my pyjamas) I looked at the audience and there was a real sense of expectation in the air, I found out later on our play was announced on the main stage by the lovely people at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire who recommended us, hence why we suddenly had a big turnout. As I was pacing about around the back, people in the audience could see us and a couple even took pictures; difficult to explain but for the first time I actually felt like a 'proper' performer, this was a 'proper' act, that people wanted to see. I got a buzz out of that. I don't think there can be any more Oscar Pike shows though unless I suddenly get a big idea, feels like I've done all I can with this character. Either way, it went down well, and quite a few strangers (including a random bunch of girls who approached me later in the evening at the festival) praised the quality of the piece. A good day for my ego.
Today we debuted a comedy musical I had written as a vehicle for Bristol-based blues band, The Outlines. This has been on the cards for a while now, The Outlines were keen to play the festival so I suggested that I write a script to go alongside their awesome tunes and we can make a proper theatre show out of it. I only know one Outline - the legendary Matt Corrall, but the whole band went along with this idea. I then kind of ran out of time when it came to writing the script, and although the format and structure had been knocking about in my head for a couple weeks I didn't finish writing the thing until the early hours of Thursday morning. It took 6 hours to write...it shouldn't have worked really, but 'You Don't Miss Your Water' really did. A majority of the cast, and the band, only saw the script for the first time yesterday morning, that was how tight we were cutting things...we had a slightly worrying run-through on a patch of field before Oscar Pike, and then this morning did the same thing again, with most of us having hangovers. The rehearsals - well, I think 'rehearsals' is probably an exaggeration, these were just a chance to get vaguely familiar with the script, were worrying. So why did it work in the performance? Simple really; The Outlines are a brilliant - and more importantly, likable, band that have songs that work so well in this medium, and we had a cracking cast of Izzy, Abi, Alan, Vaughan and Kevin, who were just so open to the 'anything can happen' nature of this show, a joy to work with. There were glimmers of really, really perfect moments in the production, mostly thanks to Vaughan's slightly erratic dancing, and none of which were apparent in the rehearsal, and the band were super-tight, that was apparent in the rehearsal. Yeah, it was thrown together at short notice and could have looked that way to some of the audience, but with a lot of enthusiasm and charm that made me proud. And I have to admit, considering it only took 6 hours to write, I was rather happy with the script - it's as cheesy as anything, but with some nice lines and serves it's purpose perfectly. But in lesser hands it wouldn't have worked - with The Outlines and that cast it did, but then again if you put that much talent on one stage you can't really fail, can you?
Not that it was all about us/me of course; our stage was littered with treats. Helen Arney, in particular - I know she's a mate so I'm biased, but she was outstanding on Saturday, playing at midday it could have gone either way but she played a truely delightful set and the audience lapped it up. Other great stuff - Custard Comedy (a really fine range of new comedians), Rosie Wilby, The Cambridge Improv Factory, The Gamlingay Players. We also caught a bit of Bob Geldof's headline set on the main stage, and watched some burlesque which made me feel all awkward.
Over the years I've started to go off music festivals, big and small, mostly because they're hard work sometimes - they get overcrowded, rowdy, uncomfortable. But Lodestar is different - it is without question the nicest festival in the country, with really good quality acts (gutted that due to my comittments I couldn't really catch much of the music on the main stage but whenever I did pass it looked wonderful, The Go Team on Friday night were outstanding), and all the simple things we forget about like reasonably priced beer and plenty of different food options. It's a festival where you can stretch out a bit, it's on a really attractive site and it's run by geniuene, honest people. And selfishly, it's a great creative outlet for me too - Doug the director gives me a lot of freedom to book the acts I want and to put on my own work, and I'm grateful for this. I'm also knackered though as it kicks into life four days after the Edinburgh Fringe, and tonight - our final night - we chickened out and left at 6pm, my brain is frazzled from a manic couple of weeks and I admit - I've run out of steam. My friends are as nice as the festival by the way, whilst I've been running around worrying about the acts they do great things like set up my tent for me, and even take it down, it's almost like they know I'm not a typical outdoor type.
I think I'm happy right now, I'm knackered but when I wake up a bit I think I'll realise I am happy - it's been a good couple of months what with the musical, the tour, the fringe, the festival. It's weird not suddenly having to dash about somewhere, my inbox is cleared for the first time this year. Time for new projects, I have many ideas both theatrically and musically, and many ideas of who I want to do them with. And Christmas seems to be creeping up on us too...this quiet period won't last for long, phew!
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