geoff's birthday bash

thornhill lodge guesthouse

Geoff Carminke picked me up from the station in Derby after a train journey through the most changeable weather I have seen for some time. The view through sun lit rain and dark, threatening, thunder clouds was very impressive, especially from the inside looking out of the train.

We soon arrived at Geoff and Rea's guest house which happens to be one of the nicest places I have ever stayed in. If you are ever in the area and need a room go straight here. You will not be disappointed. Geoff and Rea have worked hard to make this place what it is and the welcome is second to none. So that is my very sincere testimonial for the place now on with the show.

mike, rea, yours truly, geoff and kev 

I stayed over night before the gig and had a splendid sleep and an equally welcome breakfast. Soon after I went out into the garden to watch the preparations for the festivities later on. Geoff has a band called STAIRWAY. It is a three piece featuring Geoff on guitar, Kev Ball on bass and Mike "Ringo" Epling on drums and he does have a touch of the early Ringo about his style, cool!

Geoff has a stage area in his garden and for the occasion, a Stars and Stripes flag with an overlaid skull and crossbones. No doubt the pirate emblem saved the scenario for me lol! I 'aint gonna play in front of that flag at any price.

Geoff has some lovely guitars and we talked equipment for a while as it all came together. Tea was plentiful and the vibes were lovely as some guests began to arrive. They were a mix of old and young from all over. I get to play to the whole generational set these days and happily, the grand children feature more and more. The weather continued to rant and rage in periods of blustery rain with storm clouds looming and then abating every twenty minutes or so. The sun came out to dry every thing and this was followed by another soaking time and time again.

Eventually John arrived from Wigan and we watched the first set from STAIRWAY. I loved the slightly self concious way the lads eased into their set. Soon they were knocking it out nicely with an eclectic mix of covers. They are a good bit better than I believe, they think they are. They should definitely play out if they want to and I think Geoff does. Next me and the sky cleared a little. ( I know. Some times I underestimate my powers lol!) But, it wasn't long before the rain poured down again. I carried on and, perhaps strangely, part of me revelled in the slight spray in my face and the wind seemed an appropriate accompaniment during some of the songs.

The guys played another cracking set, better than the first, and we all retired indoors for a warm up and a stunning array of refreshments. The centre piece of the tables laden with goodies was a home made cake in the shape of a guitar. I loved the "Fender blue colour". I always fancied a guitar that colour.

fender cakeocaster

The rain came down in sheets and so I played another set, repeating some songs played earlier, inside the house. I enjoyed that set most because there were no weather distractions and I could tell a story or two. I can only say, as I often do regarding FDPFAFDW audiences, they were lovely, warm and attentive. They are always from the widest back grounds with great stories to tell me about their lives and we almost always have a great deal in common. John and I had a great time and Geoff and Rea's hospitality was as warm as it gets. Power to them and all of their people! On a rough day I ask myself why do I do this? On days like these I know.

John and I drove back to his place through the darkness with the sound of Geoff's band pumping out through the stereo. We sat up very late discussing plans for the future and on Sunday we had a chill day and a meal with friends in the local pub. Think I found me a an organist in the perhaps unlikely guise of a man who plays church organs locally. Well I am hoping he might be able to play an accompaniment to a song I am writing for the show in the church. After a meet with the vicar, a lovely serene woman and the local publican and his wife, we hope we will get the okay for our Autumn special. Working title OUR DAILY BREAD. This is to be the charity concert for homeless folk I have mentioned before and might be a model for other similar community initiatives. The church interior is fabulous and kept in pristine condition. I hope we can go ahead with things, with this church, as the venue.

There was a great deal to think about on the train back from Wigan and as it pulled into Euston London I must admit to having a well satisfied feeling that the weekends aims and objectives were nailed.

On Sunday I will be meeting up with Steve and Art for another jam session. I am quite excited about this and really looking forward to seeing the guys. After that I shall be Norway bound 

peace

off to Geoff and Rea's

mr bradshaw at the wheel

Well I am off on my travels again. I'm off tomorrow to play for Geoff's birthday on Saturday in Derby. It should be really good 'un. Geoff and Rea run a guest house and apparently, I will be staying in The Wasa Wasa suite. Cool!
Geoff has a three piece rock outfit and lot's of lovely muso gear for me to peruse and possibly use. I hope the weather holds. I will always remember the fair days pay gig in the Lake District. It poured the whole time but still we had a great time. That was one of my high light gigs. After the gig, on Saturday night, Mr Bradshaw my tour manager is coming to collect me at about 1 am. We will drive to Wigan for meetings with all concerned, on Monday, around our concert for the local homeless folk in a Wigan church, later in the year. I want it to be very special.

I had a very nice time with Steve and Art a couple of weeks ago. A nice social and jam session. Very laid back just rolling around bits and pieces and just seeing what came out. I liked it. It reminded me of the earliest days when we played just because it made us feel good. In my case it didn't always make me feel good but it usually made me feel better. After years of getting together to fulfil an obligation, gigs to played or a recording to be made etc, it is very good to play music for pure pleasure, with out restraint or any commitments. I was never very fond of rehearsing at the stage where it is necessary to polish parts of an arrangement over and over again though I like the results. I want what I do to have a similar free styled frame work that we had when I started playing in a band. This why I love the freedom of solo gigs but, I miss the noise. Any way Steve, Art and me are going to do it again in a week or two.

I'm off to Norway for a couple of gigs towards the end of the month for Elisabeth at her cafe/bar called Kulturbua in Kristiansand on the 23rd May and next a FDPFAFDW gig for Gry and members of the Rock Club in Larvik. After that four or five days of chilling, sight seeing and fishing in the Larvik area.

Ok so this next idea is a slightly new departure for me but one I would like to explore further. I recently had a FDPFAFDW enquiry for some one who has been a long time fan and who is ill. This came from some one who is also a fan and some one who obviously has a deep attachment to the person on whose behalf, they contacted me. Neither has income enough to pay me one days worth of it. So what do I do? I play the gig that is what I do! That gig is a surprise gig so I'll say no more.
This got me thinking that I have time and some resources, including friends and associates who can assist me, so if you know of some one who really deserves a freebie email me and we'll consider it. I cannot promise to give a yes to every one but I will try. 

It is time to pack the last bits of gear for the next days adventures so I'll get on with that and get back to you later.



peace 

you deserve it!

Some one once said “ It doesn’t matter what they write about you as long as they spell your name right.”

Enjoy the fame Mr Cliffud. You deserve it!

p.s. I removed a comment from this post due to legal reasons. The person named in the comment is facing trial and in view of that the comment was deemed inappropriate.

Athens and other things

underground car park revisited

It seems ages ago when I set off for two nights at the Drug Store in Athens. I had the beginnings of a cold and was feeling a bit rough. Thankfully getting there was easy with out major hassle and so it began. Since I was last in Athens, fourteen months ago, the increasing decline is clear to see. The streets are dirty and covered in graffiti. many of the food shops have little to offer. Looking out of my hotel room on the first night didn't add much to my Athens experience though to be fair the promoter fixed me up with a room with a balcony next morning.

a room with a view

In most shops there is always good bread and plenty of pasties filled with a strange cheese. This reminded me of being in East Berlin before the wall came down. There I saw a shop with a pyramid of tinned tomatoes in the window. There would be a queue outside the door for those tins the next day, at the crack of dawn.

The sound check at the club went well. I love the simplicity of solo gigs.It was clear the numbers were down on the first night compared to the previous trip and so it was on the second night. I was concerned and still I put my best into it all. I played long and with passion. The audience deserved it. Kind and gracious as ever, the people I met at The Drug Store were  a treat. I chatted with the owner about it all. I asked him what he thought about the the different attendance, especially as the previous gigs were so jumping and cool. He said it was "The Crisis". No one has the money they had a year or so ago, except for the rich. I noticed the cocktails were no longer available and other significant changes. I could see how the ethos and style of this venue might be changed to better serve the interests of it's clientele and relate more closely to the circumstances of the times. How ever, adapting can be difficult when your dreams and years of work are already invested in one path.
I feel for the Greek people who have little responsibility for their circumstances and I hope things improve significantly and soon. It is clear there is an underclass of people for whom there seems to be little or no safety net and services for the vulnerable and disposessed are minimal.

The cold I had persisted and I virtually lost my hearing in my left ear. I was a little concerned for a while but it has cleared. Any way this put music making on hold for the past couple of weeks or so. Every time I sang it was a though I had a monitor earpiece in my left ear and it was loud. All good now though.

I have a few FDPFAFDW gigs coming up. One is for Geoff's 60th birthday in May and another must remain a total secret until the day. So there! In terms of public gigs and in case any one hadn't noticed, venues are finding it real hard right now and gigs are getting thinner on the ground. I can honestly say it is cool with me. I finally get to play only the shows people really want me to be at. I'll do almost any thing but I just don't feel like hustling any one to book me. It is a very nice feeling and it means I can do what I really want. 

Bradders has been hard at work from our northern headquarters ( tee hee!). He has secured a church venue for our special charity show later in the year. With a bit of luck and a lot of hard work this will be the model for a series of co op style gigs involving local people in a local good cause. A kind of Fair days pay (for community) for a fair days work. All good then and some thing we have been working towards for over a year.

It is nice being touched by the first warm fingers of the Spring sunshine. I no longer venture out on the bike in the rain and wind unless I can't avoid it but I am looking to turning the pedals any day now. I know Ramblin' is straining on the leash to get me out with him. He's building my new super pc with solid state drive and other fancy, modern stuff. He reckons this machine will be so cool upgrading will not be an issue for years, if ever.
I have never had the tools I have now and it is making every thing so much easier. The Mac book is filling up with the pre production material for a new album. I am spending inordinate amounts of time honing my video editing skills and looking forward to completing some of the many projects spread across the Mac and new PC.
I recently purchased a zoom G5 pedal board for my electric guitar work and having had a short time with it so far I am blown away by it's versatility.

I must admit I have been immersed in new technology and new music making and so this blog has been neglected for a while. I expect I will be more on the case over the next weeks and I will making changes to the website.
It looks like I will be going with Steve and Art to the Friars Exhibition at The Aylesbury Museum to give a question and answer session some time soon. 

the 62 stratocaster exhibited

The three of us are getting together on Sunday for a social and a little jam session.
The hibernation is over. It is time to be out in the world and for me, I think lots of fresh air and exercise will be the mantra for the coming summer.


peace

old guitar and "evening over rooftops x 2"

my 1962 fender 

Last week two people came from Buckinghamshire County Museum to collect my 1962 Fender Stratocaster. It is to be part of an exhibition at the museum around the wonderful history of Friars in Aylesbury.

This is the guitar I wrote about in an earlier post. It is the guitar Eric Clapton played at a jam after Implosion at The Roundhouse Chalk Farm and Syd Barrett played when he had a little jam with The Pink Floyd at All Saints  in Nottinghill Gate. 

Friars was one of THE clubs to play back when were in the early days of the Edgar Broughton Band's career. There were about four or five clubs in the whole of the UK that were top venues and many of the others were cracking gigs to play but, some stood out from the crowd just like we did. We loved playing at Friars. Back in 2009 the EBB played the Friars Aylesbury 40th Anniversary and we rocked it. The band was presented with one of the Friars heroes awards. It was a great evening and brought back very happy if slightly blurry memories.

yours truly at Friars 1969 with the beast 62 strat

So if you are in the Aylesbury area and want to drool in front of the beast and get to see some thing of rock n roll history at Friars then I am sure the exhibition will be your thing. The exhibition runs from March 1st to July 5th.                           

Evening Over Rooftops x 2 is the title given to my upcoming shows next week at THE DRUGSTORE in Athens by Spilios the club owner. Last years shows were an absolute delight for me on many levels and I had the pleasure to play for one of the most knowledgable and appreciative audiences ever. I played all kinds of bits and pieces old and new that I have never played before or since. So I am working on how to top that second time around. It should be fun.

I was sitting relaxing with a guitar last night after finishing the lyric to a new song called On The News. I started messing around with a bluesy groove and slowly a blues song I call I HATE THE GOLDEN DAWN emerged. It is a work in progress but it will be right on the nail, on the night.  

The Golden Dawn is a very dangerous fascist community in Greece. Unfortunately they have grown tentacles through all levels of Greek society. They have been curtailed to some extent after they murdered immigrants in the street and murdered a well known Greek musician who had publicly opposed them. Their list of crimes is long.

I hate The Golden Dawn

If I was a cleaning lady working for my bread

I would see what has been lost

I would see what lies ahead

I would see my flag is torn

and I would hate

I would hate

I hate 

The Golden Dawn

If I was a roaming gypsy looking for a home

I would see what has been spoiled

I'd see it cut me to the bone

I would see my flag is torn

and I would hate

I would hate

I hate

The Golden Dawn

If I was a man of colour trying to be safe

I would see what has been broken

I'd see what cannot be replaced

I would see my flag is torn

and I would hate

I would hate

I hate

The Golden Dawn 

peace

money no object and other things

Anglesey

Hi folks. The above processed pic is my take on the mood of the weather out there. Although this was shot on a glorious warm day, I think it harbours some of the brooding elements of an imminent storm. Hopefully it is a stretch of coast I will re-visit with a bag of lures and my bass spinning rod on a fine day.

So to the business of noise. The new song, In The Noise, I was supposed to release a week or so ago as a free gift to you lovely people has been very delayed. This is partly due to me setting out with big ideas only to find, for the umpteenth time, it takes a very long time to actualise some things. 
Oh well! It is sounding good and they say all good things come to those who wait. I don't suppose any one is hanging on, with bated breath, waiting but I am sorry for not delivering on time. Any way the good news is that it is sounding cool so as soon as it is finished I'll let you know.

Back on the subject of weather, I feel sorry for those who have been flooded in their homes but Cameron's "Money no object" promise seems extra ordinary by any standards. This is the man responsible for reducing the staff at the Environment Agency by thousands. This is the man who ignored pleas from the people in flood areas such as the Somerset Levels. Early in the Somerset flooding I tweeted, some thing along the lines, that if we can't care for the young mentally ill in the UK, who are often detained in police cells due to no available place of safety, why should we give a f=+k about the farmers in the Somerset Levels? Of course I was only really making a point rather than dismissing the needs of those who are flooded. 

If we continue to ignore Global warming on a global scale the sea will reclaim land and the coastlines will change massively. It might be necessary for some of us to relocate unless the real issues are addressed. Where flooded agricultural / reclaimed land is concerned the Dutch know what to do so why doesn't the government get them on board. The Sikh invasion of the Levels was a fabulous example of fellow Brits mucking in. I heard them on the radio talking about how they felt duty bound to help their fellow Brits. For so many of them to turn up to help, with out being asked, was marvellous and what a lovely bunch they were! Also it was good, though perhaps still a little surprising, to see the princes hefting sand bags in Berkshire. Top blokes! 

I hope the government does get their forward planning going in the Somerset Levels and other places but I think people will remember how long it took for any one from government to take any real interest in the plight of people flooded out and how quickly government made a "money no object" pledge when the floods hit the Thames Valley. I think the too little, too late response from government to the whole problem will cost Cameron and the coalition dearly in the next election. This crisis is a long way from over for him.

I was a bit concerned to see that 38 Degrees launched an appeal to raise money for flood relief. I think they should stick to campaigning and leave the cash relief to David Cameron to find though I feel sure, others will disagree. 
I don't expect he will deliver on his "money no object" promise. This is the man who has done has done nothing to ease the hardship of those penalised by new welfare policies and he continues to cut vital services. There will be more punitive ongoing cuts in the public sector that will continue to affect vulnerable people. It will be devastating to the people least able to cope and least responsible for the national deficit. 

There is real concern that sanctions against job seekers who do not meet the criteria for numbers of jobs applied for are being applied carelessly and with out proper consideration. A man made redundant, through no fault of his own, was asked to apply for ten jobs a week. This was increased to twenty. The man did his best but fell short of the total by two applications. He was sanctioned meaning he lost his benefit for four weeks. The man tried to take his life but was found by his brother and survived. When did any banker or Westminster member of parliament ever have to deal with any thing like that? 
The Etonian plunderers have no idea of the havoc they are wreaking out here in the real world and unfortunately the silent masses are still in hibernation and seem to be disconnected from any possibility for relevant and effective protest. Thatchers self centric philosophy is still very much alive and well.

Work wise I am still writing new songs at a rapid rate (for me). I am also rehearsing some old songs for the Athens shows at THE DRUGSTORE next month 

and it looks like there will be two Norwegian dates in May. I have had a couple of interesting offers to record with new folk so that could be fun. The shape of a new ensemble and vehicle for yours truly's louder side is taking shape and I can say it is not what I thought it would be. The criteria has changed a lot over time passed and I think I can say a final line up of personnel will be some thing of a surprise.

My new Austrian writer friend Walter Kohl has sent me his ideas for our book and I am looking forward to this collaboration with high expectations. Walter is a widely published author and a fascinating guy with great ideas that are very much in the same vein as some of my own. 

The weather has not been supportive of my video experiments but I have spent some of the indoor time getting to know the new camera and shooting random abstract clips. I have to admit the weather has adversely affected my mood, along with other small blips and so I am looking forward to sunnier days and maybe a day out fishing some where, when some of the water levels have dropped. 

On a totally positive note LFC is where it should be in the Premier League after a long time out of things. 
The Brit kids are doing great in the Winter Olympics which thankfully, have experienced none of the threatened disruption so far. 

The rainbow campaign at the Winter Olympics has been quite subdued and no where near as effective as we were lead to believe it might be. 
It should be said that Russia is not the only country that should be under close scrutiny and criticism on this issue. Unfortunately some of the homophobic practises of the Russian state are far from rare in the so called democratic free world, whether they are official policy or not. For example Canada's border guards have proved themselves to be anything but inclusive. Earlier this week the British comedian Avery Edison, who is trans gender, travelled to Toronto to visit her girlfriend and was found to have overstayed a previous student visa. After hours of invasive questioning she was sent to a men's prison. 

After US ARMY whistle blower Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years for leaking classified military documents, she declared herself to be female. It will be interesting to see how the US authorities will respond to this situation as the campaign to free her grows. Heroine or villain? Well you can guess what I think. Bless her and all of the other whistle blowers who have paid the price for showing us truth that governments and other vested interests tried to suppress.



peace.

p.s. On Tweeting I must say that I don't follow any one so please don't be offended if I don't follow you. I use Twitter to say small things from time to time. I don't want to know what any one had for breakfast nor do I want to join a community of so called on line "friends". My real friends know who they are. I will try to respond to a request for info or similar.