Many years ago, my family & I attended church, regularly. One thing that happened one Christmas morning, was that the vicar encouraged the children of the congregation to bring in a toy that they had received for Christmas. I was about five or so, maybe a little older, and had, this particular year, been given He-Man's trusty steed, Battle-Cat, and his opposite number, Panthor, upon whom Skeletor was wont to ride around Eternia. (Just typing that felt weird, given that I have not mentioned He-Man, or much else of my childhood toy collections, in many a long year.) This is what the Panthor toy of the time looked like:
The idea was that the children would line up, and the vicar, armed with his trusty little microphone, would go along the line and ask the children what they had been given for Christmas, and to say a little bit about it. I presume there may even have been some higher purpose to this incongruous Q&A, or maybe it was really just a community thing. I'll never know. Anyway - I plonked my Skeletor action figure in the saddle and stood in line. I seem to remember a boy with an Action Man helicoptery kind of thing - just imagine the range of toys from the eighties divided between about ten kids, really - and the vicar eventually got around to me.
"And what do we have here?" said the vicar.
"It's Panthor, from He-Man," says I, proffering the toy.
The vicar puts his finger in the jaw, between the teeth, and says "I bet he could give me quite a nasty bite!"
[pause]
"It's only a toy," I say into the radio mic, and the congregation burst out laughing.
ZING! Take that, Christianity!
That really is one of two stories I can think of involving my time at church. The other one was my last visit to church as a member, a few years later. Someone was talking to us about boy scouts, I don't know why because I may have zoned out at the start, and I never heard the end of his talk, as at one point the fellow removed the woggle and neckerchief of a nearby scout, and was holding the piece of cloth up to show us, and I whispered to my father, "Is he doing a magic trick, Dad?" at which point he decided to sneak us out and never look back, and I think that was our last Sunday morning as good honest Christians. It was an easy mistake to make, because the way this scout was on hand to lend his neckerchief, could have made him a glamourous assistant, had his boy scout jumper been a bit more glittery.
This service, I should mention, was not the reason we stopped going to church. There had been undercurrents boiling up about this with my parents, to which my sister & I were completely unaware, and I think at its heart, lots of things about Christianity weren't sitting comfortably with them, and it came to a point where they decided that the juxtaposition of their personal beliefs and religious leanings finally collided in a Big Bang of revelation for them. But, I'm not here to write about my parents' beliefs (or lack thereof), as it's not my place to go into any further detail than that. No, there's something I wish to tackle. Maybe in a fishing kind of a way, maybe in a rugby kind of a way, but seeing as I've never been fond of rugby, and I can't fish, we're just going to have to assume I mean with words. In a "deal with something verbally" kind of a way.
Fast forward more years than I'd like to openly admit, until we get to three weeks or so ago. I'm in my kitchen, listening to the radio. I'm doing toast, drinking tea, I've just listened to 'The News Quiz' repeat on Radio 4, and the previous night's 'Any Questions?' is now being repeated. A question is raised about the laws on assisted suicide in relation to terminal illness, and a politician, Constance Briscoe said:
"...Well I have a major problem with this one, because of course, I'm a Catholic ... and as you know, one of the things that we are against is taking your own life. I was brought up to believe that if you take your own life, you're certainly not going to go to Heaven, and that's the end of that, you go to some other place ... against that, can I tell you that I started to work in a hospice, before I went to university, when I was 16, and I continued to work on a voluntary basis up until 2005, on a Sunday, just sitting with some of the patients in the hospice, who were dying, and it really did break my heart, so many of them died in great pain, sometimes on their own, and sometimes I'm absolutely certain, that if they had been given a choice, they would have chosen to go slightly earlier when things were a little bit better for them.
So I am in two minds, my faith tells me, as a Catholic, that this is quite wrong - I'll never see my God if I take my own life (I'm not quite sure I want to see him 'cause I've got quite a few issues with him, but that's another matter). Having said that, it's not for me to dictate to others, so the jury is out on that one."
For me, hearing this, the jury was not out. This actually cemented some of the things that flit through my mind whenever people "talk beliefs". Here's why:
This is what I believe a moral dilemma is, if you know something is right or wrong, in your heart-of-hearts, and your religion tells you the exact opposite, it creates a paradox in you. Your "beliefs" are telling you to do something that is on the other end of the spectrum from what you know to be a good, honest way of being a human being. It's like your body urging you to jump into a skip full of broken glass, razor wire and nettles while your brain is shouting "Nooo!"
Now I should, at this point, say - I have no problem with faith as a concept. It can make people stronger, and that little bit more able to get through the hardest of times. If your belief in something can help you & give you strength, then it absolutely should and I will not contest that for a second. In the above quote from Constance Briscoe, the things that keep her from fully believing that the right thing for the people she sat with in the hospice are things that had been drilled into her whilst growing up. A religion whose apparent message is one of threats and fear - "do this or you won't get this" - as opposed to the best interests of people in pain. (Mercy is a virtue, right? Just checking.)
I will tell you what I believe in - the faith I have that keeps me strong in the hardest of times. Life. People. Laughter. Kindness. Love. The things that people can do that are inherently good are fantastic. Every day I see some small act of kindness that makes me smile for the rest of the day. I believe in treating people the way you want to be treated, I believe in expressing myself and using the skills for which I appear to have a knack to express myself as best I can.
Maybe there is a higher omnipotent entity, maybe it's made up of all our collective consciousnesses? Who knows? We are definitely on a spinning rock in the middle of nothingness, and it is indeed miraculous that we are here at all, much more so that we are able to make music, drama, words, comedy, sausages, lighthouses and boats. There is so much in life that is bad, that is scary, and that is man-made evilness, but there is so much good, too! We don't necessarily need a God/some Gods to thank, or to put on a pedestal in order to ask for guidance.
If you do believe in God, believe. Believe with all your heart if you need to. But don't let God rule over choices in what you know deep down is the right. Only you can decide that.
I know I said hello from Blogland last night as I doled out Liebster Blog Awards, but it's about time I wrote a good long handful of cavorting nonsense, isn't it, really? As I write this, I am full-stomached from a plate of scampi, chips & veg, and I am hiding the chocolate away, after having woofed down a mouthful whilst cooking dinner. Coupled with all this culinary hoo-ha, I have also been chuckling me hearty socks off at Wile E. Coyote & Roadrunner cartoons. Yes, rock and roll at Chez MacLeod is alive and well, and living off scraps.
It's an odd time, post-Christmas, isn't it? Some people find January hard, some carry on through as normal, while others soar as the year begins, on wings of optimism and goodwill. I am not one of those people who take on winter easily. There are swathes of time where it wins, and I am crushed beneath the weight of black mornings & endless dark evenings. This year, the Festive Season has gone, and I am unusually chipper. I have started 2012 with determination, grit, and good humour. I am somewhat surprised because throughout November and December, I did not feel like myself. This isn't unusual as such, because I often hit winter and almost put my entire personality to one side - I feel like a completely different person and indeed have been told, in no uncertain terms, that I am a "miserable sod" come the long winter nights.
But no. This year, I feel a seed change. I put this down, in part, to the SAD lamp I was bought for Christmas (one of those you just put on and point at, but ever-so-slightly away from, your face). I have brightened up (no pun intended) considerably since using it. Aside from that, I had some marvellous gigs in 2011 (also some marvellous long, late-night walks in unseasonal weather whilst getting lost/abandoned, post-gig), and I am eager to build on this experience. I have recorded some (nowhere near enough, but some) demoes that I am proud of, and I absolutely need to build on that this year. Hopefully, I have crossed over my winter slump and am back on the "moving forward" stage. This isn't to say I might not sink a little again, but I can hope (and that's half the struggle).
I have also started this year with a gig, at my usual haunt, The Rigger (it's de rigeur, I suppo- no, wait, come back), and I recorded it. This is good news, you might say, and indeed it is, because the quality of the recording is darned good, and it's nice to have a record of an evening spent playing songs at to people. The only thing I would say lets the recording down, I'd say, is the small handful of mistakes I scattered throughout the set. Which isn't to say that it was a bad gig - it really wasn't, because it was fun chatting to the audience, the songs were enjoyed, and I left the stage feeling buoyant. However, when making gig recordings, you want to completely nail the songs so that you have the rough imaginings of a recording that you would be happy for everyone to hear (I veered away from saying "product" here, as I would have felt pretty sick with myself). As it stands, there were about three songs that I am pleased enough with for me to want to broadcast them, and at some point I will. I plan to make a few more gig recordings, and then will unfurl my schemings, at which you can stand back in awe.
Now, this is a hard road. Anyone among you who is of a creative bent (whether it be music, art, writing, photography, acting, or blog-writing in itself) may feel a slight creep of unease at then going on social networking vehicles and proclaiming "I'VE DONE THIS! COME AND SEE!" I know I certainly do, because if you have been in touch with me, you know I'm a friendly sort who likes a natter, and it seems wrong to then post my doings into their face (I should probably have thought this sentence through before typing it, but no matter).
I am not one to blow my own trumpet. I have a dualistic personality at times, which is evidenced by my experiences with the seasons, I suppose, and my self-belief alternates between two states. It is either:
1: I know I can write songs, and I think they are good songs (mostly). I only ever feel truly comfortable when on a stage with a guitar and a microphone (and when joined by other musicians, it's a joy), and audiences like what I do. Music is something I need to do, just to keep expressing myself and let off steam. I'm a good singer-songwriter and I want people to hear my songs, and I want to be recognised for it, so goddamn it TELL PEOPLE.
or
2: Who am I kidding? I've left my 20s round behind some bins and I am just kidding myself that people would think I'm good enough at this to be heard.
I know deep down that State 2 is not really the truth of it, and it is just Depressive Me getting his voice heard during moments of weakness. I believe State 1 is more accurate, but the main reason why is because of what I am told. Plenty of people tell me that my songs are good, that my live performances are fun/entertaining to attend, that my recordings are ones they enjoy - because of this, and because I enjoy music too much, and because it flows through my veins when I'm not playing, to the extent that I listen to music in order to channel the enthusiasm until I next get to pick up a guitar, that I do post to Twitter & Facebook to tell you I've uploaded a YouTube video, or a song, or a blog (in the case of a bit later, this blog). I enjoy writing, and I love communicating, and all this is a means for me to express myself to the big wide world.
And if I'm honest, I like response. It warms my heart to know that someone likes what I do, and you folks have been wonderfully forthcoming whenever I've posted or uploaded anything, and you've given me cause to think that it's worth ploughing on and doing more, which is why 2012 is a year in which I hope to expand on what I feel I've achieved in the last 12 months. This will mean (all going to plan) more gigs, more variety of places, and I really hope this means I get to say hello to more of you in person.
I am starting this year in a happy place, and if you don't mind, this will mean me blowing my own trumpet from time to time and directing you to stuff what I done. And I promise not to rub my doings in your face. In the meantime, I shall go. There's some chocolate left & my dinner has gone down sufficiently enough for me to feel I can have a square. Or two.
Goodnight all, see you soon.
Love,
John.xx
* "Minions" was suggested to me on Facebook a while ago. Just testing the waters here...
Good evening readers! Well, what do you say? I am rather chuffed to have been presented with the Liebster Blog Award by Rosalie at http://tearosesmusings.blogspot.com which is a bit nice! The purpose of the Liebster Blog Award is to spread the love from one small blog (those with under 200 followers) to other small blogs. This helps to spread awareness and readership. I also hope it provides encouragement, because sometimes truly wonderful bloggers can be slightly disheartened if there are not many people reading (others are happy this way. I am in the mysterious third character - not sure how many read, but I blog like the Dickens regardless), and this is a lovely way to say "I love what you write!"
Liebster, in German, means 'dearest' and so, in keeping with the Liebster Award tradition I am going to pass on this award to 5 blogs that I enjoy. Blogs that have inspired me and made me think about the lives of others. Blogs that have entertained me and, I feel, will be of interest to all of you.
To accept the award you must: 1) Link back to the person who gave it and thank them for thinking of you. 2) Post the award to your blog. 3) Give the award to 5 bloggers ( with less than 200 followers ) that you appreciate and value. 4) Leave a comment on the blogs of the five people you have chosen, to let them know.
Before launching into my Glittering Ceremony of Blogland, I say a hearty "TA, YOU'RE AWESOME!" to Rosalie, who gave me my Liebster (odd, if you read that as "gave me my dearest"...). You can follow her at @tearose68, and her blog is full of interesting things - stories, vignettes, freewriting experiments & words games. Who knew so much variety could be packed into a blog? I didn't.
My favourite types of blog are ones which deal with honesty (either poetically or straightforwardly), or ones which are whimsical, either with nuggets of creative writing or demonstrations of creative work (photos/art). Either way, I love wit & loveliness. These people have it in spades.
Right - so - here, in no particular order, are the five blogs onto which I heartily slap a Liebster (that sounds wrong as well, but not, this time, through translation)!
1) Claire, at http://tactless-blonde.blogspot.com/ whose blog is full of wit, honesty and entertaining vignettes into her life. I love her writing, it's like receiving postcards from a favourite witty friend, and it's not necessarily from holiday either. I wonder why people don't send postcards regardless of circumstance?
2) Diane Marie, at http://ohlittlecloud.blogspot.com whose blog I can only describe as beautifully poetic. There are posts that I have read & then forgotten where I was because I was engrossed in the pictures painted here.
3) Max, at http://allinafunk.tumblr.com/ Max is a lovely bloke. His blog contains photos of things found while out & about, or lovely views, or photos seen & liked, and also contains moments of honesty.
4) Kai, at http://pawmonster.blogspot.com is someone whose tweets & blogs I look forward to. This blog is full of creativity & photos, and she also uses it to demonstrate ideas & techniques that she's experimenting/playing around with.
5) Rachael, my sister, at http://lookingdownthepath.blogspot.com. My sister does not get chance to blog much, being the mother of a nearly-one-year-old alongside her husband (who is the father of said nearly-one-year-old, and not also a mother as my sentence implied) & a student of creative writing. Study and family time come first. But her way with words is a treat, and perhaps her blogging opportunities will become more probable in time.
So there we have it. These are the five blogs which I recommend. Hope you enjoy them, hope you enjoy mine, and again, thank you Rosalie for giving me a Liebster. I'm a-smilin'.
Greetings! And a happy 2012 to you. I hope this year builds upon the last, unless 2011 was hard going, in which case, I hope 2012 is a turning point and a positive one, at that.
My 2011 was largely positive. Strewn with the occasional low point, but then it would be unrealistic of anyone to deny that they occur to them, too. I have done plenty that's made me faintly proud, and weathered the storms in a relatively upbeat manner. One of the things I've loved about the last year has been the music. Not just me writing songs & getting to play them on a handful of stages, or recording them, or talking to you on YouTube, but also the music that people have released, which has hit me in the heart & buried itself there. There has been a lot with which I have fallen in love, and it's as if all my favourite musicians have clubbed together & vowed to release music this year. I would like to take a moment to share with you some of the music & events that have lit 2011 up for me.
So here we are, in chronological order, with videos where appropriate.
January
I was contacted by Paul, a friend of mine, who'd pointed a local radio station my way, as they were in need of someone to do an acoustic session on their music programme. Only six months previously, I had dipped my toes back into the music scene, having taken a long break. I accepted and, in the run-up to the broadcast, set up a music page on Facebook, uploaded a handful of old mp3s, and set about making myself look like I meant business.
The interview was a revelation, largely because it had been a very long time since I had talked about why I write and perform, or any of the processes involved, and I was thrilled & excited to be on and airing some new songs & an oldie. I left the radio station with renewed vigour & a fire re-lit in the pit of my stomach.
Shortly after this, I supported Seers (again, pointed my way by my friend Paul) in The Black Swan in Leek, and after a jolly gig - in which one of the blokes at the bar told me that "Imagine If We Fell In Love" was a beautiful song, but when I sing with my eyes shut, I look like Beaker from The Muppet Show - I managed to make the evening more memorable by missing the last bus out of Leek & having the charge in my phone battery run out, resulting in a long walk at 1.00am, until I staggered into a local casino, the receptionist of which allowed me to call a friend who had been checking I was ok til my phone died. What an adventure!
A week or two after this, The Decemberists released 'The King Is Dead'. Their previous album, 'The Hazards Of Love' had been a long, complex rock-opera, and 'The King Is Dead' was a return to relative simplicity. A marvellous album, brief, sweet & stomping by turns.
February
One of the bigger influences upon my music, and how I approach writing and recording is Bright Eyes. Introduced to me by my best friend Mike, listening to Bright Eyes was revelatory. The expression of the deeper, darker emotions has always been as important as the good and the hopeful, and any music deemed to be depressing is never truly that, because in the midst of it all, the song has a core of optimism, that things will be better. And Bright Eyes released 'The People's Key', which got better with each consecutive listen, as a running thread of Denny Brewer (who had produced an album with Bright Eyes' singer & songwriter Conor Oberst previously, and who has some odd and also genuinely nice views on the world) talking about the beginnings of life and how to continue.
Also released was Lykke Li's 'Wounded Rhymes'. An odd yet gloriously atmospheric album, with varying styles of song, although all songs have an reverb which give them a slightly distant/bleak feel. Again, recommended by Mike.
My friend Matt Tyrer has always wanted to group a bunch of people together to perform 'The Mariner's Revenge' by The Decemberists, and this month he, Ed Moseley, Romas Masteika (all three are from Dead Radio Society), Dan Elphick, Victoria Bailey and I did just that. We learned 'Rox In The Box' from 'The King Is Dead', and also one of my songs and one of Dead Radio Society's songs, and called ourselves 'Misanthropic Bell-Ringers Anonymous'. It was fun!
My nephew was born in February, and all of a sudden my little sister has a son. He's a lovely little boy and it continues to surprise me how much he grows when I see him.
March
In early March, Matt Tyrer, Ed Moseley and I went to the HMV Institute in Birmingham, to see The Decemberists on their tour for 'The King Is Dead'. A great show with humour and bazukis. They also rounded the night off with 'The Mariner's Revenge', and the three of us watched with interest & couldn't help but compare notes to how we had done it a couple of weeks previously. And I sang my harmony line.
(I realise this isn't a video from the show we went to, but I couldn't find one)
March is also the month I set up my Twitter account. I had resisted this up to now, but was finally feeling like I was missing something - a way to point a broader audience to the music I make. I was right, more people listen to my songs now than they ever did two years ago, and more than that - something I wasn't expecting - I have made some lovely friends and been introduced to people who have come to mean a great deal. I'm not kidding when I say being on Twitter has had quite an effect on me.
I also knocked http://www.wix.com/mrjohnmacleod/music together.
April
Nothing much seems to have happened here, so I'll move straight onto...
May
At the beginning of May, I supported MEME, a band who were playing their first gig in a pub called The Musician, in Stoke-on-Trent. MEME share a bassist with Seers in Mark Bayliss, which is how I came to be recommended, and it was a great night. Mike came with me to take in some tuneage, and MEME were foot-stompingly good. My set was largely uneventful, right up until the last song, when three drunks staggered in and, in turn, tried to ask that I play Michael Jackson's 'Man In The Mirror' for a recently divorced friend, took the microphone off me to sing something unintelligible, and loudly boo me because I wouldn't play any Richard Ashcroft.
My Twitter escapades continued on apace, then at the end of the month I had three consecutive days of musical japery. On the 27th I was a guest with my friends' band 'Our Mutual Friend', who had learned 'Dirty Badger' especially (this was fun, I hadn't played electric guitar onstage for ages - although lack of plug sockets meant that I had to operate my guitar pedals from on top of my amp - that was tricky).
On the 28th I returned to Leek for the music festival, which was holding a busking competition and I spent a merry hour outside Boots, playing whatever songs came into my head. After two minutes getting heavily rained on, I encouraged a smile from a passer-by by playing Crowded House's 'Weather With You'.
The following day I went to de.bee's in Winsford, for a charity event. MEME were also playing, so we all travelled together. It was a lovely day, we all had fun, although there was initial concern when a glance at the running order saw my name with a question mark next to it. I ended up cutting my half hour set down to three songs, as the apparent course of action was to trim down on the solo acoustic guy, but it was a good night and it's a lovely venue.
That weekend, Gemma Hayes released 'Let It Break' - her fourth studio album. It's beautiful, quite simply. Lots of interesting harmony work and full of pace. The standout track for me on this album is 'Keep Running', a song which just aches. Gemma is another of those artists who has really influenced the way I write & record, the layering of vocals & guitars has always fascinated me.
June
Nerina Pallot's fourth album, 'Year Of The Wolf' was originally slated to be out at the same time as Gemma Hayes', but there was a two-week delay, and instead it came out the same week as Emmy The Great's second album, 'Virtue'.
'Virtue', an album written as Emmy tried to deal with and make sense of her fiance's sudden turn to Christianity, resulting in him breaking off their engagement. A superb set of dramatic, at times moody, but always beautiful songs, excellently arranged and benefitting from Emmy's songwriting and delivery.
I had been looking forward to Nerina Pallot's album for a while, and when it arrived, I put it straight on the stereo. I had recently had something of an epiphany about my life & circumstances and was hitting a sort of resolve, and as such was a bit emotional and thoughtful. Also - I have found that as Nerina continues to write songs, each one has the power to move me, whether it be an upbeat song, full of joie de vivre, or a quiet, introspective piece. So from beginning to end of my first listen to 'Year Of The Wolf', I was reaching for hankies and dabbing my eyes, and deciding it was best to wait a bit before thinking about dinner, as I was crying a bit too much. Especially by the time we got to 'Grace'.
What else was out? Well, Bon Iver's self-titled album was out in June, but I didn't hear it until November. Regardless, it's one of the most original albums I've heard, along with Lykke Li. There's a warm, distant, bleakly beautiful quality to this record, and it's spent a long time on repeat in the house. I love it.
And then Liam Finn released 'FOMO'! Short for 'Fear Of Missing Out', this takes the raucous, fantastic energy - not to mention the softer side - of his first album 'I'll Be Lightning', and harnesses it, refines it, and makes it into a worthy follow-up to his debut. Highlights for me are 'Reckless' and 'Jump Your Bones'.
July
A big month.
First up, Bright Eyes' tour brings him to the UK and, specifically, Manchester Academy. I travelled across that day and walked around the city - it's my favourite city - getting my bearings from the hotel to the venue and back, then staying in my hotel room half an hour too long & transforming what was going to be a saunter into a mad dash. It was in the middle of a hot spell in the UK and so was gloriously warm. Bright Eyes were amazing - more amazing than I thought they would be - and I left Academy 1 just bowled over. The energy, the occasional flashes of wit, and the amount of songs played - it was a hell of a night. I travelled home from Manchester the following day, energised.
At the end of the month, my friends Matt & Sarah got married. Matt is MEME's frontman, and we all met that night at The Musician. At de.bees, they asked if I would play some songs at their wedding, to which I gladly said yes. Imagine my embarrassment on the day, when as all the guests were arriving, I was still trying to figure out how the PA system worked and frantically plugging and unplugging things, praying that I could start playing soon, and stop looking like a sweaty panicking man. The wedding was a beautiful day with perfect weather & good company. My personal highlight of my gig was people encouraging children to dance to 'I've Still Got your Blood On My Curtains'. Bonkers.
The day after, I supported Our Mutual Friend. They had hired the Artrix Theatre in Bromsgrove, their hometown, and this remains my favourite gig that I've played. A 300-seat theatre, people sitting down, listening to what's happening, sound technicians, lighting rigs. I was in heaven. It was nice to pitch a set at precisely my level, without battling to be heard, and everything I said between songs was just spoken. I usually have to shout a bit. I skipped off stage, practically. Happiest night.
August
Similar to April, except I started using YouTube, and began a series of Q&A videos called John MacLeod Speaks To The Internet. I also entered a competition set by Nerina Pallot to be a support act for the London date of her tour. It was exciting, the first time I'd done something like it, and Nerina was kind enough to leave a comment on the videos that entered the competition.
Also, this hit the Internet and everyone got a bit excited over it. It is a beautiful song, and so I include Lana Del Rey's 'Video Games'. Looking forward to seeing what the album brings this year.
September
Neil Finn releases the album he made with his wife, Sharon, under the guise Pajama Club. A fresh, exciting and new sound for Finn, which makes you wish they had discovered they had this musical chemistry sooner. Interesting stuff from start to finish, and you can see how much a change of direction suits him, and Neil & Sharon suit each other so well in this.
I also made a second appearance on Moorlands FM, chatting about what I'd been up to, my thoughts on songwriting, and the presenter also went through some of my back catalogue during the chat, which was a new (and fun) experience. I then played three songs, the introduction to one of them was marred slightly by the sound of my other guitar sliding off its rest and crashing to the floor.
The following weekend I recorded one of my songs, Ether Halo, which I'd written earlier in the year for a friend I'd made on Twitter. A small video now exists for it, which I uploaded to YouTube:
October
On the last day of decent weather that the UK was to see for the year, I went to see Nerina Pallot play at the Manchester Academy 2. A brilliant gig, it felt more like a gathering of friends at a party. There was such an atmosphere of goodwill in the room, and Nerina aids this by being a champion of between-song banter. There are not many who excel at this to the same degree, and we were treated to insights into songs and musings on what it is to be a student (it was Fresher's Week, which was amusing because the day I came to see Bright Eyes, it was Graduation Day). I got to say hello to Nerina afterwards, and also made new friends. It was magic & a happy evening. It was also the last day this year I walked anywhere at night without a coat or a jacket.
Two weeks later, Dead Radio Society released their first EP, 'Plan Z', and held a launch party at The Rigger, where they played the EP in its entirety, then played a slew of songs that are yet to be released. They have so much good material, in such a variety of styles (as do Our Mutual Friend), that they are a great band to watch. I supported them with a 40-minute acoustic set, and was dead chuffed to be a part of the evening.
(This video was made a few weeks later at Fat Cats in Hanley)
November I had a nice couple of gigs this month, the first being at Verve Bar in Leeds - the first time I've visited the city - on a music evening hosted by Hayley Gaftarnick, an amazingly talented musician with a fantastic voice, one of whose songs has been floating in & out of my subconscious ever since. I enjoyed the sets of the musicians who played that night, High Hollers and the duo Gerry Cooper & Phil Snell, really good stomping blues & bluegrass. I had fun playing my set too, managed to orchestrate a singalong of Crowded House's 'Fall At Your Feet', and rouse those present with my own songs, too. Then got lost on the way back to my hotel in slatting rain (this is a habit for me).
Three days later I played in a pub in my own town, The Old Brown Jug, support Headsticks & Dirty Money No.5. Having got a near-perfect setlist on the go in Leeds, I was able to give it a tweak & make it even better. I have lived in this town all my life & never had chance to play in this pub, so it was a treat to do so.
Nothing was released in November that I heard & loved, although it was during my trip to Leeds that I picked up 'Bon Iver' from Jumbo Records in the St. Johns Shopping Centre, and so here is a piece from it.
December December slowed me down. I am surprised by how much it did it this year, but my impetus & forward motion just sort of stopped. I didn't even tweet as much. Mad, eh? One CD was released in December that got me, an EP by Nerina Pallot called 'Yes, December'. Five songs, including a cover of 'Last Christmas' which I can listen to. The original winds me up, something about the sound of those drums, and it just bugs me. That's not all that there is to be commended on the EP, the new songs are top drawer, and 'Lot Like Heaven' is on my learn-to-play list, while 'Two Figures In The Snow' blew me away. A nice last release to hear before the New Year begins!
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It should be noted that throughout all this, I regularly attended Bearfoot's hosting of the open mic night at The Rigger, and the Folk Club at Keele University, hosted by Dan Elphick. These music nights have been wonderful & welcoming to play at, despite my occasional frustrations at what pub crowds can often be, and I am extremely glad & thankful that nights like this exist. Thank you to all concerned for putting them on.
So there it is, my year in music. I hope you've enjoyed reading, and if you've had time to watch the videos, I hope you've heard something you really like. I hope 2012 is every bit as exciting in musical terms, both for me and for the people to whom I love listening. There are amazing musicians and singers and bands out there, people who didn't release anything (or that I just haven't heard yet) this year and therefore didn't make it on the list. People like Cathy Davey, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Villagers.
I retire for the evening now. Here's to 2012, and all who sail in her. Thank you for reading my blogs, being a Twitter-chum, listening to my songs, and letting me bang on about all the above. Have a lovely year, and keep being ace.
