mostly david ephgrave

Having become something of a lazy musician of late, I decided to apply some energy into actually improving my skills by buying an electric drumkit so I can work on my drumming. I wouldn't say I'm a drummer so much as someone who can drum a bit, which is wholly in keeping with my 'Jack of all trades, master of none' approach to life and particularly music. My experience is mostly limited to having a quick go on someone else's kit during a rehearsal or a soundcheck. And while I've never sat down to practise, it's certainly something I've always wanted to do. When you're a musician without a lead instrument, like me, it's easy to rest on your laurels and stop improving. I'm the type of person who only stretches himself musically when a job requires it; when I'm working as an actor/musician, I frequently find myself in the role of lead guitarist, bassist or keyboard player, which gives me a reason to focus on that instrument. And whe...

Today I did one of the few household jobs I’m capable of and fixed our toilet flush with a coat-hanger. (Oh, the glamour.) You’d think I would have picked up more skills by now but, outside of my toilet-fixing trick, rewiring a plug or replacing the fuse wire in our extremely antiquated fuse-box, I’m pretty useless. Admittedly, I once repainted my bathroom, but I wouldn’t say I did the best job ever; more like somewhere in the Top Ten. Housework’s a different matter; I’m a dab hand with the iron and a mean-machine when it comes to washing up. The one that puzzles me that people apparently find difficult is doing the laundry; there’s an advert running at the moment for a pod-based detergent you just throw into the drum, which seems to be labour under the misapprehension that pouring liquid is the height of skilled work. The question is when do you adopt these handyman (or handywoman) skills? Is it all part-and-parcel with becoming a ...