How I Spent My Summer (or Happy Birthday, TJMB!)

  This time last year, I was a bit nervous. For the first time in a very long time, I was about to gather some folks together and attempt to play music with them. I knew it was time to do it, I had done three years of solo acoustic troubadoring which is all very well if you are well-disposed to doing everything alone, but I'm not. Mostly.

  I like my own space as much as the next man, and it's quite satisfying to write a song, sing it, and go "Yeah - I did that," but there's only so long until the novelty wears off. The train journeys with you, two acoustic guitars, a stand and two satchels are only worth doing once. Not the three times I did them.

  And aside from anything else, how is one chap on his own supposed to find the time to do decent recordings of his songs that can live up to what's in his imagination?

  And while we're about it, how is a lone fellow to get the attention of a crowd when he's playing in support of a band at very busy venue?

  These things were rolling around my head after a glut of solo acoustic shows, all of which were fun, but also leaving me with a need for more. I wasn't living the musician's dream, I was half-living it. I wanted to make NOISE, I wanted to prove what sounds I was capable of making when allowed to work with a bunch of musicians, I wanted to plough my musical furrow and give a nod to the artists who had inspired me to stick at it and not give up.

  I wanted, essentially, to not be alone in this. I needed the friendship and support that can only come from good people who wanted to do this with me.

  At which point Matt, Angela & Paul enter the frame. This summer we've been working very hard at making our debut record, "Unexpected Sunshine". We started it in February, and then had intensive recording periods throughout March, April, June, July, August and September. Not one second of our recording time has been squandered, and we're excited and proud of what we've made so far. We really can't wait to share it with you, either.

  There have been laughs and pure joy while making it, such as the really hot July afternoon that saw Matt consume four or five ice lollies and start chucking tubular bells, baroque organ and steel drums across the songs with gay abandon, which promptly caused him to run into the other room, giggling hysterically.

  There have been curious emotional eddies tugging at us, too. All too well I remember the sessions that ended abruptly owing to time running out, right after a vocal take of one of the more stirring songs on the record, and not being able to shake off the melancholy that accompanied it. And sometimes we're all trying to reach an end goal and slightly misinterpreting each other, whereupon the mix of noise, heat & creative endeavour means that everyone is on the verge of popping, and a collective silence drops in order to stop that happening.

  And it goes without saying that the friendship we've forged since last October means we aren't going to lose our tempers with each other anyway. My bandmates have been there for me when I've had bouts of lowness and forlornitude (no idea if that's a word, but I like it), and I like to think I keep their spirits going when they're flagging, too. We're a good band, because we take care of each other, we care about us, and we put the music ahead of ourselves.

  In the middle of this, we have signed up with Neon Tiger Productions (who, as a result, are now our management), we have played shows to full houses, half-empty rooms, and three people. We have played to a beer tent full of dancing people, and also a beer tent with some people in it, three of whom slouched off when Matt joked that I was chatting them up (I only asked them if they were relaxed around the boundaries).

  We have worked hard to make songs that scared us become not only an immense amount of fun, but different, challenging and exciting for listeners. What were simple pieces have suddenly taken wing and soared above us, leaving some truly beautiful four-part harmonies in their wake, and as we've played more, we have just started to write and generate material together. I think we have become in tune with each other, musically, which means that it won't just be my lyric book from which new songs emerge, and the songs I do write, I bear my bandmates in mind and think of things that they will have as much fun playing, and will suit their styles.

  This is the first year with Paul Hancock, Angela Lazenby and Matt Tyrer. I can't wait to see what the second one brings!

John xx