Mostly Songs.


Another thing I found whilst flicking through my old photographs, was the proposed cover of my aborted 2004 / 05ish solo album, Mostly David Ephgrave.



You may recognise the title (see the top of the webpage). The phrase started life as an ad-lib I said at the end of a solo acoustic gig. I wouldn’t have remembered it, if the show hadn't been recorded. When I listened back to it, those three words stuck out. It was the perfect name for a demo recorded ‘mostly’ by myself.  

The other half of the recording venture was my friend, the then-sometime promoter / producer Ashley Mann. We started out as guitar teacher (me) and student (Ash). Ash was aware of my work with Big Day Out, and was a firm supporter of my songwriting ability; something I lost faith in after my band split up. He encouraged me to keep going. He also had the recording set-up to document it. Having Ash produce me was a luxury, after being at the helm of most of my past demos myself.

The only thing that stood in our way was availability. Sessions had to be fitted around my constant touring. Just as we were starting to get into the swing of things, Ash moved to Leeds to go to Uni. We often talked about me visiting to finish things off, but we never got around to it. It was a shame as we made the perfect team, and the results of those first few sessions sounded promising.

Ten years later, my emphasis has shifted from music to comedy. All those actor / muso tours stunted my inspiration. I seldom pick my guitar these days, which would have been unthinkable back then. One day, I’ll return to it. At least the title of my demo lives on, in this blog and in the name of mine & Glyn’s comedy club. I only wish my hair was as thick and luxuriant as it was in 2005. Damn the passage of time. Damn it to buggery.

 

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...
Read more

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

Today, I nipped to Letchworth to meet with illustrator (and one-time - two-time - comedy poet) Mushybees, to discuss an event Mostly Comedy will act as surrogate parents to as part of Letchworth’s Arts Takeover in a couple of weeks. Months ago he got into contact to see if we’d be up for co-organising a comedy stage as part of Letchworth’s weekend of arts-based attractions in July; something I’d provisionally said yes to, before things got hectic in the lead-up to Edinburgh and we didn’t take it any further. Despite not getting down to the nitty-gritty straight away, we managed to pull a line-up together in a back-and-forth of emails yesterday, leading to me getting Glyn’s blessing and us deciding we’d officially go ahead with it (whatever ‘officially’ means in this context). In reality, it’s not complicated: from 12pm until 6pm-ish on the 22 nd July, Glyn, Mushybees and I will host four Edinburgh previews from four acts (including me), before Nor...
Read more