mostly david ephgrave

I realised this morning that, in my rush to finish yesterday’s blog about the stickers on my guitar case , I'd forgotten to mention the most prominent one. On its own, it looks confusing. That’s why I included the CD to make sense of it. You’re looking at a back-to-front version of my old band’s logo. It’s in reverse because it’s a window sticker. Suddenly it all makes sense.   It came free with Big Day Out’s first CD, Get Happy. We recorded the EP in 1998, early on in our ‘career’. I was 17 and at college. I can remember travelling to the studio by bus on the first day, thinking how I was probably the only passenger on my way to a recording session. Perhaps I was being presumptuous about its clientele. We were a four piece at the time. I sang and played bass. I wrote the songs with the other singer and lead guitarist, Rich (who featured in a scam-related blog a few days back). When he was in the band, I felt inferior to his talent...

Every sticker on my guitar case tells a story.  (Graph paper for scale) Each one ignites a small memory in my head. Some are significant, others less so. It’s like an old-style suitcase plastered with labels recalling glamorous holiday destinations, but on a budget level; most of the events they recall took place in the North Hertfordshire. I often catch people reading them on the tube. They probably wonder what they mean. Either that, or they’re drawn in by shapes and colours. Whatever the motive, the time has come to set the record straight. Jazzy Dave. This chap's only purpose is to remind me of my name. His outfit suggests he’s been on my case (non-aggressively) since the early-90s. In a way I feel sorry for him: not only does all his hair sprout from a point mid-cranium, he hasn’t got a nose or ears. His glasses are held on by will alone. Still. He looks happy about it. Music Zombie. My friend Ash us...