Posing in the Ephgraveyard.

If I ever get around to recording a solo album, this should be the cover. 

It was taken by my wife while we were out for a walk at the weekend. She's an excellent photographer, who's responsible for most of the photos Glyn and I use to promote both Mostly Comedy and ourselves - including my current headshot - yet she doesn't see her own ability. This particular picture came about as the result of a little fiddle with her phone. I like the moodiness of it, and how it manages to capture the massive gaping hole at the back of my head so perfectly; it's a wonder I'm still lucid. 

 While I was joking about the album, it's a shame that I'm no longer making music. I can't remember when I last picked up my guitar other than to move it, which is ridiculous when what I did with it used to define me. My focus has shifted away and I wonder if it will one day shift back. 

 I had a small pang for playing in a band whilst watching a Latin group at a gig last week. It's not a style of music that interests me, but I found myself inevitably drawn to the way the bassist had locked with the drumbeat and for a moment, I wished that bassist was me. It's not like it isn't something I've done countless times myself - it had got to the point that I'd gigged so much, and had scored out so many bass, guitar or piano parts to play once at some uninspiring event or other for next-to-no money - but to play with a band you connect with is still a great feeling. It's instinctive. I got the music in me, man...or it could be just wind. 

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

Hoo-ray and up She Rises.

So much has happened since my last post in March that this blog risks sounding like an itinerary. The main news is that Hitchin Mostly Comedy will return in the summer at a new venue, the Queen Mother Theatre . The road to this decision was convoluted, though enough fell into place en route to leave me optimistic about this new start. The catalyst was a survey I ran via our mailing list a few months back, in which I asked, "If the club returned in the current climate, with tickets still around £15 (and with similar line-ups), would you still attend?"; the response to which, in simple terms, was a resounding yes. Nearly 250 mailing list subscribers responded in a single week, with around a hundred also taking the option to leave some feedback. And only two people were abusive, which counts as a win when you consider they posted their comments online anonymously. Imagine how many more insults we would have received if the comedy club was a woman. Particularly if she was Diane ...
Read more