mostly david ephgrave

Today, I did the nicest of nice radio interviews to promote next week’s St Albans Mostly on Radio Verulam, followed by the nicest of nice halloumi salads in the café below the studio. Me being me, I was nearly late, after missing the bus I had in mind, for the second bus to never come, making the whole bus-catching thing a third-time lucky experience. The first one would have taken me to St Albans direct, while the third meant a change in Luton, which I made in good time, for the connecting bus to be the tardy one; I disembarked at the stop nearest the studio with five minutes to spare and no idea which direction to take; after some vague pointers from a passerby who seemed more lost than me, I made it by the skin of my teeth (my teeth are very skinny). Today’s biggest setback was the lack of a Glyn Doggett, who’s away this week, tour-managing a show in Scotland. While I would sooner have shared the interview with him, I managed to stave off th...

I didn’t intend to listen to tonight’s episode of In Your Inner Ear as, to be honest, I was a little sick of my own voice and thought processes (I’d spent a few hours, trying - and failing - to write), but I’m glad I did, as it cheered me up. That wasn’t meant to sound arrogant. What I enjoyed was hearing back the banter from my two favourite funny friends (glib) Glyn and Stephen, and the sense that, however unplanned it may be, it comes out sounding like a show. I’m often nervous before the programme airs, because I haven’t heard it. We record it in real time in a two-hour block, as the station no longer supports a live broadcast, with no time to do a retake, so there’s always a risk that it might be shit. It’s yet to be that, but watch this space: [                          ] My favourite part of tonight’s show was the least prepared bit: m...

Tonight, we recorded this weekend's episode of In Your Inner Ear, reaching the rather non-specific milestone of Show Twenty-Eight. It didn't feel as smooth as last week's show to my mind, but I'll reserve judgement until I hear it back. The recording sped by, so that's a good sign. There were a few amusing moments now I think back, so maybe I'm being too hard on it; we'll find out on Sunday when it goes out.  The problem with getting this many shows in is you start to question whether you've already told the stories you offer up. We've made a vague note of what was discussed when, but it's not straightforward to cross-reference. The topics we chose are also fairly generic and often variations on a theme, so a few tales are likely to come up more than once. One thing you can always rely on is the dubious nature of the song Glyn chooses for the infamous segment Glyn's Corner. This week's selection was by Savage Garden; I forget the title...

Predictably, I listened to tonight's episode of 'Doggett & Ephgrave: In Your Inner Ear' when it went out; primarily so I could tweet along the pictures that accompanied it. I always feel slightly nervous before the broadcast; mainly because I can never quite remember what was said, or if I was any good on it. The show's recorded so quickly, you barely have the chance to consider it - and when it's a been a busy week like this one, it fills such a tiny fraction of your time for you to barely even consider it as you're doing it. This can be positive, as the content often takes me by surprise when I listen back to it. Tonight, I genuinely laughed at a lot of it; not in a self-celibratory way; more because I didn't know what was coming next, bar the basic outline. There was the odd bit of cross-talk in places, which was frustrating, but funny lines frequently came up. I like the broad scope of our references (tonight's ranged from Pingu to...oh, I for...

Today's been the dictionary definition of jam-packed. (N.B. It's not literally the dictionary definition, but FUCK YOU . This is my newer, reworked, rowdier post Bath-Comedy-Festival self, and you've gotta LIVE WITH IT .) (...I'll now step down from my pedestal.) The day started with meeting Glyn for breakfast, which was nice, as it gave us the chance to catch up on what's been happening for us both in the past few weeks. I filled him in on my Bath Festival experience, which was for the most part good, and he filled me in on his current job hunt. The only slight frustration was we were pushed for time from the start as I had a doctor's appointment, so we resorted to talking in bullet points. Nevertheless, it was still a good thing to do. After my appointment (which I won't relay, as there are limits), I went to the office to quickly look at a prospective set for a gig I was doing this evening (which I'm currently on the train back from as I write th...

We recorded the 24 th episode of ‘Doggett & Ephgrave: In Your Inner Ear’ tonight, ready for it to go out on Sunday. I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind for it this evening, and consequently felt it didn’t really gel, for the first hour at least. Somehow, we weren’t quite in the same mindset. It didn’t help that I foolishly started with a piece that relied on Glyn recognising the artist responsible for an audio clip, but hadn’t pre-warned him about it. This was unfair, as he was busily multitasking while running the desk and couldn’t remember the band’s name, which meant the segment fell flat. Things gradually picked up pace from that point, but it felt a little forced, though perhaps it won’t sound so band when I hear it back. To be fair, it’s not always going to be perfect (not anyone would say it ever is). Reaching our twenty-fourth programme and forty-eighth hour is pretty good going, and there has been lots of good stuff amongst it....

I’ve just got home from recording this week’s ‘In Your Inner Ear’, which goes out on Sunday. The theme for tonight’s show – episode twenty-three, no less – was ‘No’. While my last sentence may sound like I’m channeling Frankie Howerd, I assure you I’m not; if I were, I would have followed that ‘No’ with a ‘Now, listen’. It was nice to record a new episode, as this was something we didn’t think we’d be able to do due for a while, due to Glyn’s and my lack of shared availability. This has now changed, meaning we have a little more time at our disposal. Tonight we tried out a new mixing desk that we’d bought primarily to enable us to record the show with us both in separate locations, should we not be able to find a time when we could both be in the same room (we haven’t fallen out). As it stands, don’t need this option as much as we did, but it was still nice to use better and smaller equipment than the cumbersome desk we’d been using to date. The so...

Tonight, we recorded the 21 st episode of ‘Doggett & Ephgrave: In Your Inner Ear’; if the programme were a US citizen, and each instalment classed as a year of its life, it would finally be able to buy alcohol. (What a clunky analogy.) As with the last few shows, it was enjoyable to do. We’ve settled back into our groove, now that we’re recording regularly again. I’ve mentioned it here before, but it’s much more relaxed recording it in our office rather than in the studio, as we’re able to work on our own terms. It may even be too comfortable, as I sometimes forget anyone else will listen to it, when it’s just the three of us sitting around three mics in isolation. The theme for tonight was ‘Great’, which seemed broad until it came to topics to discuss. Some of the links were tenuous, but this doesn’t matter as long as they’re entertaining. I’ll find out for sure when I listen back to it. It’s terrifying to think there are forty-hours’...

We prerecorded Sunday’s In Your Inner Ear tonight at Doggett & Ephgrave HQ (A.K.A. our midget office). The show's topic was ‘Stupid’. Literally...in the sense that we shared examples of the countless times we’ve seen or done something idiotic (with most of our stories inevitably falling in the latter category). I enjoyed the recording more than last week's show, as I felt more relaxed and in the swing of things, whatever that means. By the end of the programme, the three of us were laughing uncontrollably, mainly at Glyn’s anecdote about the time he thought he was dying because his hands had turned an unnatural shade of blue. It took a couple of hours of sheer panic - imagining all kinds of ominous symptoms – for him to realise it was just dye that had rubbed off of his new pair of jeans; I’d like to remind you that the man is now a FATHER . Recording at the office instead of the radio studio is a cozy little arrangement. The ro...

I listened to this week's In Your Inner Ear when it went out tonight, tweeting relevant pictures and comments along with it like a man possessed.  It's much easier to do this when the show isn't live, as it gives you a chance to do the job justice. That said, it's still a little frenetic as, even though I know the gist of what was discussed when, something always takes me by surprise. I wrote here on the day of recording of how I was concerned that the tiredness and incoherence I felt as we did it would show. Thankfully, it didn't. It always surprises me how well the show holds together, even when one or all of us aren't feeling our best. We sound at ease with what we're doing, and keep good pace. It's satisfying to listen back to. I just wish it was getting more exposure, as it's frustrating not knowing if anyone's listening; the cynic in me always assumes that no-one is.  I had hoped some of the se...

I’m often surprised by how well Glyn’s and my radio show holds together when I listen back to it, compared to how I feel as we were doing it. That’s not to say I usually think it’s going badly, as I’m generally pretty happy with it, but in the case of this week’s show (which just went out), I didn’t feel in the right mindset at the time of recording, so was relieved to discover it flowed well when I heard it tonight. The problem is I’m hypercritical, particularly about myself, so if I’m not firing on all cylinders, I'm the first to negatively judge what I (or we) have done. I’m my own worst critic, which may come as a surprise when you read what others have said about me; the bastards. What I like about In Your Inner Ear is the freedom we have while we do it. There’s no-one to answer to, except ourselves, and I like to think we have good judgement. The format is simple, but seems to work. We draw up a pie chart, with the slices divvied ...

I discovered today, perhaps unsurprisingly, that it's best to not attempt to sing a top Ab   Immediately after a large fried breakfast. (After  eating  the fry-up, I mean; it hadn't just sung an Ab itself.) The reason for the post-meal screech was I'd decided to pop to the office to record the jingles for next week's SG1 Radio show after a spot of petit déjeuner (French) with my wife (English). While the timing wasn't perfect, it was still easier than last week's 'session', when I had barely recovered from losing my voice; it seems my vocal range is less hindered by a stodge-coated gullet. (Pleasing image.)  The theme for next week's show is 'WHAT?!', in the sense that we'll be discussing the things we find ridiculous, or don't understand. While I like the topic, I hadn't accounted for how hard it would be to sing the word 'what' twice in quick succession, without the second one sounding like 'twat'...

Thanks to prerecording Sunday's 'Doggett & Ephgrave: In Your Inner Ear' tonight, I have the Air song Sexy Boy stuck in my head.  There are more appropriate ditties to have swimming around your mind before bed. That’s not to say that it’s a bad song, as it isn't; it’s just a little man-centric. Oh well. I’ll just commit to it as my Earworm of the Moment. The reason I have Sexy Boy on the brain (please read this carefully) is we kicked the programme off with it. The topic of conversation - as I established in yesterday’s blog - was ‘hate’, which bore no relevance to our opening song choice. You might think this subject would make for an aggressive two hours' worth of radio, but I believe we managed to strike the balance between laughter and loathing. We were enjoying ourselves, which will come across. We also tried to approach the topic lightly so it didn’t turn into a rant. We’re lucky to have the creative freedom to do what we want on the...

I’m currently sitting on my sofa with my cat on my lap, about to enjoy a celebratory Mr Kipling Mini Battenberg and a mug of Sainsbury’s own-brand camomile tea, after successfully pre-recording this Sunday’s In Your Inner Ear. Tonight’s topic of conversation was 'cool’: more specifically, the very few times in our lives when we’ve felt trendy, funky, with-it or hip. Judging from our previous content – and that list of words – you might think this would have made for slim pickings. Surprisingly, we had a lot to discuss, though whether our stories made us sound cool or not will be in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. It’s strange to have reached our twelfth show so soon, though it makes sense, as we’ve been doing it for twelve weeks. We’ve settled into a comfortable format. Our co-host Stephen mentioned before the recording how his mum listened to the show for the first time the other day, by streaming a little of episode one. I cringed inwardly as I thought of how much ...

Singing a one-word five-part harmony of a minor seventh chord has been a weekly event for the past few months.  The reason I've been unleashing my inner-Beach-Boy is to record jingles for our new radio show; one for every topic-of-choice, going up a semitone each week. While the results are amusing, I can’t help but think I’ve created a rod for my own back. The first chord was a Cmin7, with a top C as its highest note, which was easy enough to reach. The chord for Sunday’s show (episode nine) is a G#min7, featuring a top G#, which is a semitone higher than the peak of my official vocal range. If I carry on like this, by September, I’ll be singing notes only dogs can hear; dogs, not Doggetts. Perhaps I’m being over-dramatic. I can use different chord inversions in future to prevent any unnecessary screeching; either that, or come back down the scale. I’m the one making the rules here, damn it. Having said that, I like to challenge myself. I won’t stop until ...

Tonight, we broadcast our first live episode of ‘Doggett & Ephgrave: In Your Inner Ear’ in three weeks. As with our previous live show, the lead-up was frenetic, due to a last-minute problem with our mics; these technical issues seem to follow us about. Once they were ironed out, the show was a lot of fun. The topic of conversation was ‘school’, which gave us the chance to vent plenty of deep-seated frustrations on the subject that have been pent up for twenty years; I suspect we’ve enough material on the theme to fill an entire series. Glyn mentioned how being hit in the eye by a bouncy ball led to the school-wide bouncy ball ban, while I discussed my first ever live performance: a one-man dance to Hale & Pace’s 1991 Comic Relief single The Stonk on a desktop in an assembly. I also revealed my heated argument with a boy at infant school, because I was sure that babies came out of women’s bums; sex education at St. Nicholas JMI left a lot to be desired. For mos...

Today, I quickly knocked up a short script for a trailer for mine and Glyn’s radio show.   "Every Sunday, the duo behind Hitchin’s Mostly Comedy are inadvisably allowed on the airwaves. Join Doggett & Ephgrave for a mix of banter, chat and music on 'In Your Inner Ear'. But don’t let the title put you off. 'Doggett & Ephgrave: In Your Inner Ear'; Sundays from 7-9pm on SG1 Radio."   It will be voiced by the person who does all of the station’s trailers rather than us, so therefore had to fit the same style. If Glyn and I were to record it, I would have worded it differently. As it stands, I still wanted to make it underselling and self-deprecating. It wouldn’t be about us if it wasn’t. It also gives the advert an essence of the show’s content, rather than making it too slick. I have mentioned already on this blog how much I’m enjoying doing the show. I listened to last Sunday’s when it went out (we’d prerecorded it a few days before as G...

Tonight we did our last semi-secret pre-record of next Sunday’s In Your Inner Ear . All canned up. It was fun, despite us both suffering from post-Mostly Comedy fatigue. We were exhausted. We were also held up by technical gremlins that meant we didn’t start the recording until 10pm; not the best time to get your brain into gear for a two-hour show, particularly when you didn’t get to bed until 3am the night before. Show notes. The topic for tonight’s show was ‘jobs’. This gave us ample opportunity to recall various anecdotes about our lives on tour. Steve was with us too, sharing tales from a more ‘real world’ perspective, though in reality, his day-to-day life is just as strange as ours. We rounded things off with a Shakespearian acting competition, with us each delivering a speech from King Lear to a dramatic musical backdrop and Steve’s judgement. I won’t tell you who won, as remembering the outcome will only piss me off.  Ever the professionals. I...

Tonight we secretly pre-recorded another episode of our internet radio show ‘In Your Inner Ear’. While it generally goes out live, Glyn is on holiday for the next two Sundays, so we’ve had to fit a couple of recordings in before he went away. Rather than record a couple out of sync with the live shows, we decided to broadcast them all in chronological order – which led to us recording next Sunday’s show tonight while the show we recorded last Wednesday went out (still with me?). We listened to the beginning of the broadcast before we started, which was bizarre, yet confidence-boasting. It sounded like a proper show and everything. The theme for tonight’s recording was ‘celebrity’; a topic we covered a few weeks back, before realising we had more stories to tell. This week’s stars included Jeffrey Archer, Ulrika Jonnson, David Bellamy and Grotbags from Emu’s All-Live Pink Windmill Show; we move in illustrious circles. We also referred to last night...

Tonight saw the live broadcast of 'Doggett & Ephgrave In Your Inner Ear 3: The Search for Spock'. The start of the show was frenetic, when the chap who runs the station accidentally deleted our playlist remotely, seconds before we went on air. This meant we kicked things off from the back foot. Hopefully this didn't show; we were in control again by about ten minutes in.  The theme of the programme was 'celebrity', with us relaying stories of the famous - and infamous - people we've come into contact with over the years. These range from impressive (Paul McCartney and Quentin Tarantino), to  dickish (Nigel Havers) to banal (Chico from The X Factor). It was an enjoyable conversation, covering a lot of ground - though whether the ground was of interest to our listener/s remains to be seen.  (I hope that Havers didn't tune in.) We also quizzed each other on our respective specialist subjects ('Back to the Future' for Glyn; The Beatle...