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.

update

Hi Folks,

Just to say the MP3 single In The Noise has been delayed due to technical issues and my tendency to rip my tunes to bits and start again. Now the song will be released at the end of next week

I am putting down vocals right now and really enjoying working with Logic on my Mac, recording a complete piece for the first time. I have dozens of half finished songs in various stages of development but it is time to cease procrastination and get on with it all.

As I have been getting deeper into the technology of Logic Pro I see the restrictions and limitations of previous technology disappear with every passing day. I have been thrilled by the ease with which I have been able to progress what are probably some of the heaviest tracks I have ever made as well as some melodic songs.

I have only just finished the lyric for my song for Mick Farren, The Sound Don't come. This is a song I first played at The Borderline last time out. I seem to be writing some thing every other day and this is a new experience. There were years when I only wrote a couple of songs. Currently it works out at two a month plus sketchy ideas for songs.

I had a great week with Bob the bass player last week writing and arranging bass parts. We have a half dozen songs on the assembly line now and the best is still to come.

I will be heading out to Greece in March for a return visit to the very wonderful DRUG STORE in Athens. I'll be playing two dates on the 7th and 8th of March and then, hopefully  I will be heading out to Norway in May, for a FDPFAFDW gig and a spot of fishing Norge style.

I am really enjoying semi retirement and not worrying about what is next. I only play the dates that seem attractive to me though I never refuse a FDPFAFDW date. I am not in any rush to change my relaxed approach. I have spent too long taking the strain and feeling the stress for no good reason in the past. This said I do like being out there among the white lines and so I manage to get out and about as often as I can. Any excuse to plan a road trip. I'm off to look at some potential locations for shooting some video material for a couple of songs. I have a cutting list of shoots and a fair idea of where I am going with it. I also have a shiny new Canon 
EOS 600D.

The torrential rain that has been thrashing down for hours has stopped. The sun is shining and it is time for me to get myself together to head out with camera in hand. There are a couple of guitar effect pedals I am in interested in trying so if I come across them then tested they will be.

Time then, to get organised, put the recording on stand by and proceed to the next episode. All good. More later.

peace

the noise- prologue

in the noise

Noise like the sound of bright angels playing with machines, industrial trumpans, siren cry whale speak , like the wind howling towards land fall and love's urgent call like steam escaping in a heartbeat. Noise entwined in noise. Timbres of many dashing colours never still for a moment. Rushing and then falling in sheets of grinding metal then swinging through sweet tones, joining, combining into glorious cacophony.
Flip over in the huge wave like on a western shore. Roll in it like a fast porpoise, in my song filled dream. Lie back on the tones that weave and wind through the lateral line in real time, like rainfall pouring off a hillside. Tingling all over in the sonic landscape. Lost in the reverberations with ringing reflections bouncing madly off every surface. The phsyco-acoustic geometry of it all is wonderous and astounding. 
Feeling taken over in the sweet storm of noise, losing the well trod path to embark on a different way outside of usual. It feels good, re-assuring and safe. It reminds me of what draws us to the fire and to the beating drum and it is is eternal. It unites us. The sound of the crackling warm fire and the intrigue of the sound of a drum. Who is playing it and why? We go there with high expectation to share and to commune, by the fire with the drummer. 
A sweet note, like a Mongolian throat singer's invocation from the tundra, stands up in the noise to be counted by the hairs on the back of my neck. Falling but not asleep, only deep in the sway as I move to the rythm that is inside me.  It is the Near Sway that envelopes us all when we are happy and free. The Far Off Sway is out there and random. Some times it is safe but some times it is not. It is where risk resides and foolishness abides. It is also where, some times, greatness grows and the foolhardy become heroes in glorious vibration. 
I wonder if all the sound we make, every word and noise is recorded in a great united etheric sound library of infinite proportion. If so are remnants of our noisy being imprinted every where through time, for ages?  By the fire, around the drum eternally, living on in all the noise. Stand in quiet wilderness or at the center of a storm and you might hear it.



http://www.psychicscience.org/evp.aspx







peace

see you in 2014

Latest feel good news > Helene Donnelly (L) and Julie Bailey NHS whistle blowers are acknowledged in new years honours.

Another year draws to a close and it has been a satisfying and interesting year for me. It has been a great pleasure to have met so many of you and some of you on several occasions. I feel I have got to know many you via the fair days pay gigs. I have become so used to playing these shows for you I really don't know why I didn't do some thing about it earlier. I first had the idea years ago but there it is. Better late than never and so the fair days pay gigs will continue next year. Looks like there is one or two  in the pipe line already.

The gig high light of 2013 for me has to be The Drug Store shows in Athens and I am looking forward to a return trip.  

The electric band stuff has been held up by illness and the vagaries of life but next month is crunch time. Time to stand and deliver. I do enjoy my trips back to Warwick as long as I don't have to visit Warwick town for a bit of shopping. It is the most disappointing place if you discount the historical interest.

Some how I seem to have been less active on the fishing front this year. Other interests take over slightly and I seem to have been busy or the weather has been against it. I do seem to be gently sliding into the mould of fair weather fisherman these days. I didn't get a bass this year though Wales always throws up a fish or two from the sea and I had a few perch and pike here and there and some fun with tiny ultralight gear in Weymouth in the summer.

I am writing a lot these days and endlessly sifting through ideas for the ones that might fly. So much to do. I spend an increasing amount of time in front of my  Mac book's screen developing the songs for the 2014 shows and album. 

The Condems continue to assert they are saving the world but it is unlikely that new planned cuts to services and resulting unemployment will assist in maintaining the upturn they are crowing about and unfortunately it is the poorest who are paying the price. I believe the recovery lauded by the Condems is built on sand. There is always a way to make the figures/data they have fit the avowed, political intent. No one was more adept at that than Blair. He still lurks on the world stage, in the background, like some gaunt and grim spectre waiting for apocalypse.

In 2013 we have discovered, it is official, to become a whistle blower is not a good life style choice.  Lots of sympathy but no legal protection and in some cases, no future in your line of work. Whistle blower Chelsea Manning was treated like a terrorist insurgent then jailed for years because she told the world about a US helicopter gun crew shooting civilians for fun. She also released documents, such as the manual of heavy handed protocols for dealing with the induction of alleged insurgents into residence at Guantanamo Bay, all of which the US government would like to have kept secret. They know decent Americans and Brits would be appalled at the low level ethos employed in so called anti terrorist practice.  After Edward Snowden's revelations Obama is desperately trying to placate US criticism of UK/US spying on "ordinary citizens". According to commentators, there is a growing awareness in the US that Obama only applies the laws he likes. Obama spouts about Mandela's achievements as though he could almost take credit for some of them yet Guantanamo Bay operates on a business as usual basis.

Among the large and growing world community of dispossessed, the refugees of Syria are hanging on in barely tolerable conditions on minimum rations in camps with out sanitation.  It is obvious their salvation is not part of the US foreign policy lead grand plan, what ever that is. It doesn't seem to be working any where in the world. It seems the big players only manage to make things worse. Start with ten radicalised insurgents. Kill half of them and some of their their civilian brothers and sisters in Pakistan with a wayward drone strike , now there are twenty new ones and an English Boy Soldier dies in Woolwich. It was shocking but was it so surprising? US lead foreign policy is out of control and with plans for imminent military pull out of Afghanistan, the so called War on Terror is failing.

Such is life in the modern world that some times the world can seem to be a dark and very depressing place where the obstacles to being happy seem insurmountable but it is also a very beautiful place to be and there are good people every where. I meet people all the time who do amazing selfless stuff. They are the ones who keep the standards high, save us from ourselves and yet it never seems to be enough. It's easy to see why some people give up and why others will not. Those who will not give up in the struggle to make a positive difference are the best of us but they are embattled and under pressure in the front lines.  In 2014 let's hope for more unity in the land from the grass roots and more participation from some of my generation who only watch.  

Mean while, is any one else sick of Supermarket and other's seasonal ads vying for your custom? Beautifully photographed images of tables heaving with every kind of food imaginable and then, the ads such as those from the perfume industry that just don't know what to do or say because their product is expensively  superficial and superfluous. Still they hope another bloated Christmas is on the cards.
This winter charities such as The Salvation Army are stretched to the limit and say demand has never been higher for years. Our prosperity in the UK cannot continue be measured, in part, by the Christmas take in the High Streets while 80,000 homeless children will be dependent on charity for any Christmas cheer they get this year. 

So I am not doing old school Christmas. I don't need or want presents. I am going to give to people who need it this year and I am not the only one. I know a good few people who will be doing some thing similar. Having said all of that, of course I get why people still do Christmas and for little kids its so special and cool. So, if you are having what I call an old school Christmas, have a good one and I hope 2014 is a great year for you and yours.

peace

p.s. from jan 21st 2014 check your mail box to see if you will be receiving a free MP3 single titled the noise. watch this space and your email inbox.