It was a great privilege to hang with my friend, Cam Mackellar, at the gear cavern which is Linear Recording on Saturday. Cam is working on the follow up to his fabulous Saudade EP. The plan for the day was mainly focussed on tracking drums for three songs but we also had fun putting some guitar bits down and also numerous group hand claps and stomps and stuff. Hands on. Feet too.
It was especially great to hear “Keep You Safe” “Don’t Fear the Fear” coming to life as its our first attempt at a co-write. The song is really Cam’s baby but he was generous enough to knock it back and forth with me to get it into shape. I’m not sure you should do that with a baby. Anyways.
You can also hear a quick grab of our patented TREAD ON ALL EFFECTS PEDALS INTO A CRANKED VINTAGE PRINCETON GUITAR TONE™ in the video below.
EVVY is back … we’ve just had our first rehearsal since my little accident and right from the off we are sounding huger than ever. We are excited to unleash this thing and let folks in on our ridiculously loud, two-piece secret. We have the love. We have the dirty tunes. We have the very special venue. We will be announcing Gig Number 1 very shortly.
Us humans are always seeking validation. From our parents. From our peers. From the movers and shakers. From the taste makers. We put ourselves out there and hope that people will get us. Will get it. That they will provide us with the pat on the back that pushes us towards the dream. We shrink back into the shadows if they don’t.
We forget though that by simply creating we validate ourselves as creators. As artists. If you write poems you are a poet. If you write songs you are a songwriter. No record contract required.
Commit to the craft. It is a reward in itself. Do it because you can and because you believe you have something to say. There is nothing stopping you. Put the pen to paper. Commit the song to tape. Upload it to Bandcamp. You’ve arrived and its all the sweeter because you did it and you own it.
You don’t need a recording contract to be a musician.
You don’t need a book deal to be a writer.
You don’t need a venture capitalist to be an entrepreneur.
You don’t need a Hollywood agent to be an actor.
You don’t need mega movie studio backing to be a director.
You don’t need to get the big conference gigs to be a real expert in your field.
You don’t need the in crowd to give you the nod. You don’t need permission.
In the creative industries people talk a lot about minimising disruptions and getting into the state of flow where creative momentum is heightened. Shut the world out. Focus your energies. Batten down the hatches. Imagine deeper. Graft harder. Perspiration turns to inspiration. In life though disruptions happen. And I’m finding its in the disruptions that we see the beauty of life. Glimpses of love breaking in. Wisdom revealed that could not be uncovered through any amount of hard toil.
Generally I practise guitar every day. By practice I mean just playing. I don’t run scales, I try and make music. Familiar patterns fall under my fingers. New progressions meander their way across my fretboard. Mostly I try to grapple with something familiar and mash it into something meaningful. Nearly every day I have a little friend that runs in and gets in between me and my noise. I have to say though that its a beautiful interruption. I used to be frustrated by the interruption but now I realise that its one of the joys of my life. Her desire to leap into my world with a smile and make sure I know she’s there. I honour the interruption and the interrupter with my attention. The notes will be there when I return. And they will benefit from moments taken for love.
Just before Christmas my life was interrupted by a nasty injury. I threw a cricket ball and somehow dislocated my shoulder and broke my arm just above the elbow. Prior to it everything was going ok. Working. Paying bills. Uninspired. Frustrated. Stuck. Sucking it up because I felt I had too. The injury hurt a lot (go figure) and I spent the best part of 3 months on the couch. That gave me a lot of time for thinking. The basic conclusion I came to was that I was letting things slip away from me. Working but not living. Running to stand still. But the break gave me the beautiful gift of time. Time to think. Time to act. Time to take control and steer things in a different direction. Sometimes in life something painful comes to make us stop and take stock. The interruption cuts through the grind of day to day life. Rehabilitation. Contemplation. Re-imagination. Days turn into weeks and months. Hurting. Healing. Requiring love. Accepting help. Feeling loved. Dreaming again.
My arm is still wonky but it will come good. And I’ll take the interruption as an opportunity to sort some things out and grab life (with one arm) by the throat again. Stop being imprisoned by the status quo. Seek less affirmation for crazy plans. Just run after them.
February 11, 2011 at 9:23 pm · Filed under General
When I was in the UK I always enjoyed picking up folk / blues / roots magazine, Maverick. And of course I was chuffed when they reciprocated the appreciation in the form of a superb review for ITWBK. Anyways interesting to see they have gone fully digital. Bravo!
“With the February issue 2011 Maverick took a brave step forward by becoming an online and PDF download publication only. Ceasing the printed magazine was a move that allowed savings, to the magazine and to their customers and current readership, who saw a monthly saving of £1.50 and a subscription saving of £15.00 a year. This and the massive cut in publishing costs for the small team at Maverick Towers has enabled them to focus on a very positive future.”
Maverick is currently offering a free sample copy of the new format. Email laurabethell@maverick-country.com for your free copy. Do it.
October 28, 2010 at 10:39 pm · Filed under General
This morning I wrote and work-shopped some songs with Dan over Skype. We both listened to the tracks. We both picked up guitars. We both threw in lyric ideas. I bashed out some quick melody ideas. Everything was recorded so we can mull it over as we get the project rolling. Virtual collaboration is quite something.
I wrapped that up, had some Honey Weets, put my guitars in the car and went to the rehearsal studio with EVVY. Two grubby doods making much too loud music in a much too small room. Big guitars and huge tub thumping drums. Real life collaboration is quite something.
Hey peeps. Haven’t posted here for a long time. Thought I’d write a quick update in case anyone was mildly worried. Thanks so much to everyone that has gotten in touch and asked “What the hell are you doing next?” and “I was listening to your songs again this week and dangit I love that stuff”. That kinda stuff means an awful lot.
Has been a great season for me personally being back in Australia for this past year and half. The basic gist is that I’ve been living by the beach, getting settled into grown up life kinda, busy extremely being design guy for a European based web start up, being a late night hermit, catching up with a few old friends and making a few new ones, watching Ruby get to grips with the wildlife, setting up house and music space, curating a little guitar blog, drinking coffee, watching a red head become Prime Minister and then maybe not etc etc
Music wise I’ve got a few cool things on the go go. One of these projects is very nearly ready to unleash on an unsuspecting public. The band is called Evvy – and the sound is pretty much 70s rock inspired blues carnage. We’ll be recording some stuff soon. You can see some rough clips over here. The other thing I’m excited about is a new project I’m working with my boys back in London. Its shaping up to be a great collaborative effort. The tunes are incredible. The vibe is very different to anything I’ve done before. Hard to explain in words. So I won’t.
Yeah. That’s the update. Hope you are well. Anyone for coffee? Beer? Lipton Ice? Ginger Beer?
Check out a few pics from my recent little trip to the UK. Photos by Dan Weeks.
By means of an update the trip contained:
- Catching up with great friends.
- A few gigs with the greatest band a man could dream for. Great players even better people. Big love to Dan, Matt, Willie, Nicki and Ed.
- Hanging at my old local, Cafe Fredo.
- Swine flu taking down the drummer/manager/force of nature and his family. So nasty.
- Working on my whiskey appreciation.
- Telling the crowd at New Wine B that it would be a shame if some of them would drown in their tents.
- Regretting that last comment a little. Only a little though.
- Some new work done by Valerie Vargas.
- Playing more electric guitar on the gigs. Strat into a Blues Junior turned up very loud. Simple joys.
- Plenty of time and space to think and get some clarity on life and the universe and all that.
- Average flights with Thai Airways.
- Visiting Denmark Street but not buying anything. Good effort.
- Great late night chats with Mr Weeks. Although he called me a lightweight when I went to bed before The Commitments finished.
- Meeting all the new Weeks babies, Mr Amos and Miss Della. So Beautiful.
- My old friend Ben coming to The Halfmoon Putney gig with his little lady and a great camera setup. We should have footage up here shortly.
- Getting home and being so thankful to be back with my girls.
It really was a great little trip. Had a blast. Maybe again next year?
Music video for Other Side from the album I Think We Both Know (Listen / Download). Filmed on the Tube out to Richmond Park at sparrow’s fart (thats why I look demented), and at the recording of the album at Rush House, Northamptonshire.
