mostly david ephgrave

As far as pictures of me playing the bass go, this is one of my favourites. They call me Mellow Yellow (quite rightly). It was taken during a soundcheck on the 19th May 2011 in a theatre in the Netherlands whilst on a short tour there that crossed with my thirtieth birthday. The actor and guitarist Tim Pont took the photo of me playing whilst seated on the stool I had to use for much of the run, thanks to the onset of labyrinthitis, which meant I couldn’t play standing up due to dizziness; I’m about as un-rock-&-roll as un-rock-&-roll can get. I didn’t really want to be away for such a significant birthday, but the tour fell at a time when I could do with the money, plus the run was brief enough to not get in the way of my other commitments. It just so happened I had a few days off close to a gig in Amsterdam, so my wife came over for that, thus making at least that part of the run a bit of a working holiday. The show was a Be...

A song can sometimes send your mind whizzing back to a particular time of your life, or an event. One record that has this effect on me is Stephen Stills’ hippy-tastic ‘Love the One You’re With’.  When I hear it, it’s 2004 and I’m touring the Netherlands, playing bass for the show Hold Tight it’s Sixties Night; you weren't there, man (unless you were). I wasn’t familiar with it until I came across it in the set; Buck’s Fizz’s cover version somehow passed me by. While the show was full of great music, this song sticks in my mind the most. It epitomises those three months in Holland (my first tour outside of the UK), and the atmosphere of the company. Its communal singsong nature made it a highlight of the show. I got to wear a Kinks-style suit, play my Beatles bass and sport a mass of hair and sideburns, so I was living the Sixties dream. Another song that reminds me of the tour is My Girl. We sang an a capella version of it as a company, which had a surprisingl...

Today, I return to Blighty. I got up early this morning, showered and dressed in the usual order, then headed for the same Rembrandtplein café I've had breakfast in for the past three days. There's an impressive statue representing The Night Watch in the Square, which I admired over a cup of coffee, before being joined by the rest of the Stag Do team.  We then caught a tram to the station, a train to the airport - and we're now twenty minutes into our plane journey, already starting our descent towards Luton airport. It's less of a flight and more of a jump.  While I've had a lovely time, I'm looking forward to getting home. I'm sure I'll return to the Netherlands before long, though; maybe for another stag do before wedding number two.  I'll close this blog with a picture of me inside a lower case D. It doesn't warrant an explanation.