| 02/01/03-Checked out the grandeur and rapture of Glam Slam for New Year's Eve. There was no countdown for the new year and I don't know if that's an English un-tradition or just lack of organization at the venue. I have the home studio nicely set up and hope to spend lots of time with it. I brought back my Telecaster from CA and I just like to look at it and smile. Grace and I are playing at 12 Bar on Wednesday for our first 2003 gig, and Tom and I are back at the Larrik on Sunday. Back at Audio Underground tomorrow. Happiness is a nice flat with lots of musical instruments to play. 17/12/02-Bruce is playing bass. We had a great practice last week and will get back in the studio on Friday. He's a really nice guy and actually FROM the country of England. What are the chances? He said he knows all the club bookers so hopefully we'll do some band gigs as soon as March. I saw Gillian Welch and David Rawlings a few days ago at the Barbican. They played two full sets since Ralph Stanley was stuck in the ice in Atlanta or somewhere. Very cool show but I'd like to hear them in a smaller place, like my sitting room. A few gigs booked for the new year and as always, in a running position at all times in this hectic city. Happy Christmas to you! 01/12/02-Had a couple rehearsals this week with Oscar and Grace but still looking for that elusive bassist. I've finished some more lyrics for songs I've had for awhile called "The Villan" and "House of Cards." I also wrote a new song called "If That's Not Love" but still working on it. In the past couple weeks, I've given my demo to Rusty from Jackpot, Major Matt Mason USA and Ray Dorset (aka Mungo Jerry), the guy who wrote "In the Summertime (When the Weather is High)." Plenty of gigs to check out. This week, it'll be Alejandro Escovedo and Buddy Miller. Due to my misreading or TimeOut's misprinting, I missed the Guthries at the Borderline on Tuesday. D'oh! 17/11/02-I'm in the midst of recording two of Grace's songs, "Heal Me" and "Time 4 Living", at Paul's studio. We recorded drums at a really nice rehearsal studio called Audio Underground and started on guitars at Paul's. Grace is getting her band sorted out and hopefully soon it will be a solid unit. I still haven't played music with Oscar but all my hopes ride on a rehearsal a week from today. We're back at Paul's on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, so hopefully we'll have the tracks mixed down next weekend. Jackpot, the band from CA, is playing here on Tuesday so I'm gearing up to check out their show. 09/11/02-Just played a couple of sets last night at Bar Risa in Camden. Had some crazy dancers join in for a late rendition of "Rodeo in San Gregorio". I bought myself a little Vox guitar amp down in Brighton for my birthday. I got it at a place called Snooper's Paradise. Now I can plug in the big, heavy keyboard that I found on the street a few months back in my neighborhood. So I'm trying to find the time to get my home studio set up. I've been playing a lot of cover gigs with Tom and the crowds keep getting rowdier. The shows at Theatro Technis last week went really well. Sabina wants to get us into the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for next summer. Getting some of Grace's songs recorded soon. 15/10/02-In London again and man, winter's here already. Playing the 12 Bar tomorrow night with Grace and really looking forward to it. We played at Colour on Thursday and that place keeps getting better with more folks hanging out. No news on those SAE recordings Oscar and I did last month. Hopefully the mixing went well but there's nothing like losing control of how your music sounds. I hope to get a copy of the masters so we can do our own mixes. I brought my 8-track mixer/recorder from home to do some field recordings but at the moment I have no space to set it up. It's very frustrating to have it smooshed up in the corner. Soon. Faith. Soon. Grace has a manager now in DC. He's a very personable guy and motivated to do all the business things that Grace and I never feel like doing. November 1 and 3, Grace and I are in a performance with Sabina called "Invitation for Inspiration" at the Theatro Technis in Camden. Grace acts and sings and I play guitar and percussion. Our first rehearsal went well so we'll see how it all goes. No full band rehearsals since I've gotten back but I'm gonna play drums at Finn's punk band rehearsal on Thursday. Oi! 19/09/02-Back in California for a couple of weeks. I've gotten re-acquainted with my 8-track and have been recording some old and new stuff. I can't wait to have it with me when I return to London! It makes all the difference to have a room full of instruments and recording equipment. Once again, I can finally record the sounds I'm hearing in my head. I'd like to do some Bay Area shows while I'm in town but I haven't really gotten around to booking anything. I'm off to the White Mountains for a few days. 03/09/02-I've come up for air. I have had a guitar in my hand for about 48 hours straight. Friday, Grace and I recorded "Say a Prayer" at Paul's studio in Kentish Town. It came out really well! Great vocal sound for Grace's voice. Then Saturday night was spent at Studio One in SAE recording "Surfer Girl", "College Radio" and "What's in My Potato?" (working title, obviously). Adam ("Wheeler" to friends) got me, Oscar, Grace and the equipment down to the studio at 9:30 pm in his decked-out blue van. Whatta guy! We then recorded music until 8 in the morning. I slept most of Sunday and played a gig with Tom at the Larrik Sunday night. Grace and I played music with Lilly this afternoon doing 3-part harmonies and such. Mostly Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams and our own stuff. And now I just played down at the Roadhouse. I'm going back to CA soon for a few weeks and then I'll get back on the London maelstrom, with an eight-track recorder in my hand, naturally. 29/08/02-The Spice of Life show was cool. I got the full-on support of my twenty or so flatmates. Last Tuesday, I did the late-night set at the 12 Bar Club after Mason Jennings' gig there. He's a nice guy but didn't get to talk to him much as I was getting set to play. My sister has been in town so I've been playing the tourist and not updating my website news. Anyway, Grace and I are recording some of her songs tomorrow at Finn's friend's home studio. And then Saturday, it's another all-nighter recording session at the SAE. Using the "big room" this time with engineer/producer/students from Iceland and Portugal. Man, you gotta love London. 10/08/02-It's a crazy place, this London. There is very little downtime with a lot of running to catch buses. Anyhow, Grace and I played at Colour last week and we're playing Spice of Life a week from tonight. We're trying to set up a jam with a very talented Aussie violinist named Sara. Her band played with us at the Colour show. I had a great jam with Lilly, the Bulgarian bluegrass singer. We did some Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams songs along with our own and other old time music. She's touring mid-America in October. I also jammed with a band that are the (former) Crocketts. They have some really cool songs and ideas but I need to find the time to learn a bunch of lead lines before their gig at a showcase up in Manchester. We'll see how it all goes. I had a fun session at the Arts Factory in Islington with Grace, Oscar and Nico doing some quirky rock thingmajiggies. Good stuff. I have to do more business-side music stuff to get things going. Less shows than the past 6 months (I did 60 then) but still doing a couple a month, at least. Happy dog days of. |