| Things are looking OK atm |
[26 Nov 2009|12:25pm] |
The high winds over the last few days have blown my bird table over a couple of times. The second was enough to dislodge the roof section, so some repair will be needed when I get the chance. Meh.
Only one or two more rehearsals to the first Swallow gig. I've got the basic shape of all the songs in my head now, but I need to listen to a lot of the stuff again to fix the details. The good news is I finally got through the drum break in Black Betty. The bad news is that once this gig is out of the way the whole learning process starts again, because for the next gig they want us to play three sets, not just two.
And there may be further band news on the horizon. Stay tuned.
But for the next couple of nights I will be spending some downtime with friends. Yay.
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| Readiness and drum breaks |
[18 Nov 2009|11:59am] |
Rehearsal 3 with Swallow last night. We've now gone through every song in the proposed set for our first gig, plus a few extra, so we've got enough. And they're trying me out on new songs as well; they threw in Deep Purple's Highway Star last night and we pretty much nailed it first time.
But there's still Black Betty. Having just about got through it at the audition I've neglected it since while I learned all the new stuff. It's a real crowd pleaser so they want it in. And that second drum break is still killing me. I'm getting it right about one time in six. Three times in six I can get through it approximately and come out in the right place. And two in six it falls apart completely. That's really not good odds, especially given that it appears in the song twice. I need it to be so ingrained that it's second nature. I have three weeks.
I shall worry about it after Dar Williams.
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| Fire Drill |
[16 Nov 2009|11:52am] |
Once a term we have an unannounced fire drill. Today was the day. It's not warm out there in just a t-shirt. I suppose I should just be thankful they didn't leave it until December.
As we huddled outside and waited for the all-clear someone suggested next time they should have Catering waiting outside with hot soup. Wonderful idea. a) it'll stop everyone grumbling as they stand outside in the freezing cold, and b) if they come outside and find there's no soup they'll know it wasn't a drill...
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| Dar Williams |
[14 Nov 2009|02:49pm] |
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Back in 1996 Dar Williams released her second album, Mortal City. I caught one track from it on late night TV, purely by chance, and only once. It was a world away from my listening tastes at the time, but a few weeks later I bought the album because that track was still in my head and wasn't letting go. I've not kept up with her subsequent albums as much as I should, but Mortal City is still one of the most cherished albums I own.
A few minutes ago I was reading a news story online, when her name leaped out at me in an advert at the side of the page. Dar Williams is in the UK. This week!
So with only 5 days' notice I'm going to be at The Borderline in London on wednesday night. *glee*
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| Remembrance |
[11 Nov 2009|01:40pm] |
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On this day we remember the dead.
What does that mean?
We remember that they fought for a better world for the families they left behind, and for the generations who would follow them. We remember that they are dead, and the price they paid for that better world is that they would never see it.
We should also remember that this is not just the price they paid; it is the price we paid.
We should not only remember; we should accept responsibility for making sure that the better world they died for is indeed better. And it is our responsibilty to learn the lessons of the past, and make sure we ask very carefully whether the actions we take in the future will make it a better place.
For there are new soldiers alive now, and others who will come after them. In a better world their lives would not be thrown away in vain, or indeed at all. So we should ask those questions now while they are still alive and the choices can still be made. Because remembering them when they are dead will be too late.
That's why I have given to both campaigns this year, but the poppy I wear today is white. Not to question whether they died in vain, but to remember it's up to us to ensure they did not.
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| Winter Ahoy |
[07 Nov 2009|04:27pm] |
With Winter on its way I've been doing some preparatory shopping. When the snow came last year I started walking to work in wellington boots and stashing a pair of shoes at the office to change into. But the wellies are a sod to get on and off, and you also feel a bit of an idiot walking home again almost up to your knees in green wellies when the snow has all melted. I remember thinking someone should sell wellies that are cut off at the ankle; wellington shoes, as it were. And last weekend I found some! Picked up a new woolly jumper too. Last year I also stashed a sweatshirt at work, as my winter coat is toasty enough that I don't need more than a t-shirt under it.
Today I went in search of some padded insoles, because while wellies are waterproof they're not big on comfort. My full-length wellies have one layer of insoles, plus another layer cut from foam packing that came with a laptop at work. That's comfortable.
I also raided the poundshops for a decent stock of feed for my bird table. The birds have been devouring the seeds happily, but ignoring the fat-ball I hung on the table several weeks ago. Now the weather's turned cold, though, the fat-ball is starting to look well pecked.
Just as I was about to head home I (literally) bumped into ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) burntcopper, which was a mutual surprise as neither of us knew the other lived here. She was similarly preparing for winter by shopping for.. um... stuff to make into a Bladerunner costume. When I mentioned what I'd bought and explained the shoe-stashing idea she sagely replied "ah, you're becoming female!". However, when I thought about which shoes I could leave at work because I wouldn't need them anywhere else over winter, my first thought was, "of course! my sandals!" so I may be becoming female, but there's not the remotest danger of my becoming cool.
Oh, while I remember, here's a motorbike ad.
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| First rehearsal |
[05 Nov 2009|09:06pm] |
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Last night was the first full rehearsal with the new band. They're called Swallow, and as well as sharing a lead singer with Run like Hell they cover somewhat similar musical ground. Less prog and more straight-ahead rock, though still with a leaning towards the seventies.
They've given me three of their more recent setlists to work from; after compiling them down to one it works out at about 50 songs. Quite a few of them I already knew, but that still leaves quite a few which I'm having to learn from scratch, and one or two of those are bastards. Not necessarily to play, but certainly to memorise.
Last night we mostly played the more straightforward stuff, most of which we went through once. Even so we only got through about a third of the list. But most of it came together pretty easily, so I just have remember where they differ from the record (twice round the chorus here, or only once? etc.). But by next week we hope to have a setlist drawn up for our first gig together, which has now been booked for next month. That'll narrow things down and let me focus on the harder stuff at the next rehearsal. But for now, that was a good start.
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| Tim Minchin |
[25 Oct 2009|09:48pm] |
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I know there's a few fans of his around, so, for those who missed it, Tim Minchin was on Jonathan Ross on friday.
It's already made it onto YouTube in three parts. So here he is performing a song he wrote specially for the show (and it's awesome!), actually being interviewed, and closing the show by performing a duet with Jamie Cullum.
Enjoy!
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| Family and Friends and Gigs |
[19 Oct 2009|11:04am] |
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Since she was down south for the whole weekend, saintmaryuk also took the opportunity to bring timpootle to see me play a gig with Run Like Hell on saturday. Not only that, but during the meal on friday night she persuaded my parents to come and see it as well. I've never invited them to see one of my gigs before because the music I play would, for the most part, not be their thing. Certainly the volume level wouldn't. But if they were going to see one, Run Like Hell was probably the right choice. They stayed for the first set, which included Shine On You Crazy Diamond and the entirety of Dark Side Of The Moon, and even that was too loud for Mum, who listened from the far end of the pub. But it was sedate and musical enough for them to appreciate it; Dad especially found it interesting to watch us playing in sync with the clock samples in the intro of Time. It's good to know they've seen me performing at least once, anyway; I think they were very happy to have done so.
Last night I trekked over to meet Mary and Tim at their hotel, where we met a very handsome tortoiseshell cat, caught the tail end of the motor racing, played some pool, and chatted happily well past closing time. Now I just have to remember not to fall as...sleep... at my... desssssk... zzzzzzz...
ETA: As Tim has just reminded me, there was one other piece of news I forgot to mention: while with Mary & Tim last night I had a text message saying the band I auditioned for a few weeks ago (the lead singer of Run Like Hell's other band) have seen the other drummer they wanted to see and made up their minds, and they've chosen me. We start rehearsing in two weeks, so I've got another shedload of new material to learn. Yay!
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| Family and Friends |
[17 Oct 2009|12:41am] |
saintmaryuk is down south for a course, and she and timpootle took the opportunity to join me and my parents for a chinese meal to mark Dad's 70th birthday. She even asked him to autograph her copy of his book.
Dad mentioned a quote about the nature of debate which he used in the book (and in a number of sermons prior to that), but for which he's never been able to attribute a source. He quoted it to Mary thus:
Dad: "Before I know what I have said, I must first understand what you have heard."
Me: Half past three.
Dad: What?
It's been a lovely evening, and wonderful to see Mary again when I haven't seen her in... ooh, almost a week. I was up north for a Blues Bros gig near Lincoln, so when it was done I trekked over to Mancs for the weekend. During which we watched a straight-to-video film of such staggering badness that doctorstewie felt ashamed of having spent money on the DVD. I won't say what it was, as I plan to borrow it to inflict on people at New Year. Suffice it to say that it has a does-exactly-what-it-says-on-the-tin title, and an IMDB rating of 3. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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| Stephen Gately and Jan Moir |
[16 Oct 2009|11:11pm] |
#afp has just introduced me to the story of Jan Moir's taking the "opportunity" of Stephen Gately's death to make nasty insinuations about the homosexual lifestyle, and how it is clearly inferior to its heterosexual counterpart. (Paul Canning makes a point of the distinction between heterosexism and homophobia here.)
Charlie Brooker makes a good job of dissecting the article, and closes with this paragraph:
"Jan's paper, the Daily Mail, absolutely adores it when people flock to Ofcom to complain about something offensive, especially when it's something they've only learned about second-hand via an inflammatory article in a newspaper. So it would undoubtedly be delighted if, having read this, you paid a visit to the Press Complaints Commission website (www.pcc.org.uk) to lodge a complaint about Moir's article on the basis that it breaches sections 1, 5 and 12 of its code of practice."
Many people are calling for the article to be retracted. But the danger there is that it will eventually be forgotten and the Mail will be allowed to resume peddling their filth as if it had never happened.
So I think instead they should be forced to keep the article on their site, but with the headline altered to read:
"This is the article we thought would be a great opportunity to spread around some more deliberate misinformation, but which instead showed us up as the bunch of evil loathsome bigots we are, and forced us to fire the journalist responsible and pay out a huge compensation because the readers, the advertisers and the Press Complaints Commission basically handed us our own arse in a sling."
Just a thought.
ETA: Blogging in The Times, Daniel Finkelstein adds some choice irony on the subject.
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| A message from Dad |
[08 Oct 2009|11:39am] |
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Had an email from Dad this morning.
Dad retired from the Uni some years ago, although he continued to put in time at the chaplaincy centre. And he basically saw retirement as an opportunity to expand his role in the local ministry, so he's kept himself pretty busy.
I just didn't realise how busy.
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| The Photo Op |
[08 Oct 2009|01:07am] |
I did at least have my mobile. So this is the scene I could've done great things with if I'd had my proper camera.
( And, y'know, talent. )
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| A photo that got away |
[07 Oct 2009|01:50pm] |
Had one of those if only I'd had my camera moments. It was basically this view down the lake, except replace all the mist with light rain, and the pale gray clouds reflected silver in the water. And standing with its back to me right in the lower centre, perched on the tip of a submerged branch so it appeared to be standing on the water, was the heron. It was a perfectly framed photo, and I couldn't take advantage of it.
As I looped back round the lake and returned to the same spot someone else was there who did have a camera. I offered to hold his umbrella to make it easier for him to focus, and he promptly turned it into a composed shot with my arm holding the umbrella in the foreground framing the heron. I really should've given him my username and asked him to send me a copy.
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| How the audition went |
[01 Oct 2009|11:59am] |
Went for the audition last night, in the studios where I used to rehearse with Loose Tourniquet all those years ago. They've changed hands several times since then, each time going through a new cycle of improvement and neglect. Apparently it's gone into a particularly bad down-cycle since the last owner disappeared abruptly back in 2007. The room was tiny, the drumkit was fairly unplayable, and the bassist spent 5 mins trying to get a sound out of an amp head I remembered from when it arrived new about 16 years ago.
Once we actually started playing, though, things went pretty well. Got through Black Dog OK, once we'd gone over how they counted the stops & starts. Managed to remember pretty much all the changes in Carry On Wayward Son. Then we played through a few more tracks which I'd played many times anyway, until I was as thoroughly warmed up as I was going to be. Then it was time for Black Betty...
This track still scares me. The midsection is made up of a couple of drum breaks where nothing else is playing and all eyes will be on me. One of them is easy enough, but the other one is an utter bastard. I got through it by bluffing something approximate which seemed to go OK. But it's the kind of thing where if I keep bluffing it there will come a day when it goes horribly wrong. If I try and master it I will eventually get it locked in my head and it will work, and I will have improved my coordination through having done so. But until then that section is going to be like hurdling a beartrap.
We also had a crack at The Spirit Of Radio by Rush. I've always wanted to play this, but the intro is a total mindbender, and in 25 years I've not figured it out. Happily neither have they, so we cut that bit and played the single edit. Still plenty to work out but I think it has potential, and now I've got a reason to sit down and spend the time mastering it. I'd so love to play it live.
This all depends on whether I get the gig, of course. Fingers crossed...
ETA: They say they're all agreed I'm a drummer they can work with, but they have one other guy to see.
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| Auditioning again. |
[19 Sep 2009|03:10pm] |
This morning I saw a "Buy One, Get one Free" sign in a shop window, and was suddenly bemused about what message they were actually sending out. Given that the shop in question was a shoe shop.
As mentioned in an earlier post I have an audition at the end of the month with another band. In fact it's the other band that the lead singer from Run Like Hell sings in, so I was the first person she called when their drummer announced he was leaving. But I still have to audition as the other members haven't yet seen me play, so they've chosen three audition pieces. And it's going to be a bit of a challenge.
First up, Black Dog by Led Zeppelin. I'm pretty familiar with it. Lots of stops and starts to get used to, but nothing unplayable.
Then Black Betty by RamJam. This one I only know casually, and physically it's going to be something of a workout. Not least because it was performed with twin bass drums and I only play single. And for added fun they've picked the long version with the extended solo section rather than the single edit.
And finally Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas. I'd heard this once or twice, but that was over 20 years and all I could remember was the chorus, but I assumed it was going to be pretty straightforward. No. Oh no. It changes between 4/4 and 6/8 all the way through, never comes out of the chorus the same way twice, and has lots of little fiddly bits scattered through it. It's going to be a lot of work locking the basic shape into my head before I feel confident enough to stick fill-ins and other such embellishments in it, and I have about 10 days to do it.
Fun!
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| Farewell Felix |
[14 Sep 2009|11:17pm] |
I tend to glance at the front page of the BBC news website every few days to see what's going on in the world. A few minutes ago I looked at the entertainment section and the lead headline told me that my childhood next-door neighbour has just died.
Felix Bowness was best known as the jockey Fred Quilley in the sit-com Hi-De-Hi in the 80s. He moved in next door to us well before that, and I remember having seen him in small roles in things like Dad's Army, and congratulating him when he landed a regular role. He was always good to us as the kids next door; he demonstrated magic tricks he'd used in his days as a warm-up act, and on one occasion he even took us into the BBC to watch a dress rehearsal of Sykes. We didn't get to meet Eric Sykes himself, but we did meet his co-star Deryck Guyler. And we all gathered round the TV to watch when Felix was made the subject of This Is Your Life in 1985.
All distant memories now. I haven't really seen him for at least twenty years, aside from the occasional hello if I happened to see him as I arrived to visit my parents. But he was still living there right up until today; it feels somewhat strange to hear the news first by randomly discovering it on the BBC website.
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| Playing catchup: camping, partying, science, wedding, that kind of thing |
[13 Sep 2009|11:22pm] |
In the past three weeks I've done a lot of things that really deserve an entry to themselves, but there hasn't been time. Here's a short summary:
- Attended a london meet and neckrubbed a Lego-weary Random.
- Went camping inna field, where I sang songs, had my first listen to The Duckworth Lewis Method (which, by the magic of Amazon, was waiting for me when I returned home two weeks later), watched a buzzard, and saw a wonderful view of the Milky Way.
- Went to Manchester for saintmaryuk's birthday and the traditional drum duet, and stayed on for the following week.
- Completely failed to email a photo.
- Had a call offering me a new gig; the lead singer of Run Like Hell has another band whose drummer is now leaving and she asked me if I'd like to take his place. But her other bandmates haven't yet heard me play, so the current agreement is that they'll see me before offering it to anyone else. I've offered to cover them for any outstanding commitments in any case.
- Rickrolled countertony, clanwilliam and supermouse.
- Been to the British Science Festival, where I saw Bill Bryson, Dr Robert Winston, and the world's first environmentally sustainable Formula 3 racing car, which will race for the first time at Brand's Hatch on Oct 17th.
- Read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
- Attended a cousin's wedding in London.
The wedding was last night, and the reception was deliberately organised to be a somewhat more raucous event than is usually the case. A couple of examples: the bride staged a full dance routine to Beyonce's All The Single Ladies, wherein she was surrounded by all the single ladies, as a prelude to throwing the bouquet for them. (Apparently the groom had a dance routine too, but I missed it as the reception was split between two floors.) And then there was the band. A rockabilly 4-piece consisting of a drummer, upright bass, a singer who also played a Fender Telecaster, and a violinist who, through the use of effects pedals, also did the work of a second guitarist or a brass section. Their entire set was straightforward rock'n'roll and blues, until the last number, wherein they pulled off a totally unexpected cover of Breathe by The Prodigy. Rather awesome.
And now I have to try and shake off two and a half weeks' worth of holiday so I can drag myself back into work tomorrow morning...
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