mostly david ephgrave

Someone has left an open packet of wine gums on the train; should I or shouldn't I?  They're sitting on the table by the seat in front, taunting me with their prospective juiciness. It's proving hard to resist. There'd be no effort involved; no fumbling with the tiny tin foil with my fingers. I could just reach over and pop one in my mouth. No gummy sweet tastes better than a free gummy sweet. I keep saying WINE gums, when that's not strictly true: these days, they're called FRUIT gums. When did this change come about? Did somebody sue them for trade descriptions? Surely no-one ever believed they had any actual alcoholic content. If they did, it would make for a cheap night out.  The reason for my late night train journey is I'm coming back from a gig in Brighton. I've been on the 'Laughing Horse Pick of the Fringe' bill for the past couple of nights. They've served as a little warm-up for my show, which starts tomorrow. I'm...

Tonight's the second time in my life that I've become unreasonably excited on remembering I have a Kit Kat in my bag.  That's not to say there haven't been occasions when I've achieved acceptable levels of joy at the thought of a two-or-four-fingered treat (INSERT YOUR OWN PUNCHLINE HERE). I'm certainly never disappointed by the prospect - but it's fair to say that tonight's moment of realisation gave me a spring in my step that's seen me through the rest of the day (at time of writing, we have four minutes left).  The last time this happened was in 2003, when I was on tour with The Roy Orbison Story. It was in the midst of a matinee on a two-show day, after a very long week, that the fact I'd bought a chocolate bar earlier came back to me. The moment is seared in my memory. I was on stage at the time, wearing a white rollneck and a black suit jacket, playing the bass part to Mean Woman Blues. I'm sorry to say that the thought of that ...

Tonight, I had my first meditation class in over a month. It was, as ever, very good. While I practise a little every day, the chance for an extended session led by my excellent teacher is a luxury. He has a knack for making you consider what you're doing from a different point of view - and, in turn, making you approach meditation differently.  I'm finding it very useful when tackling the stresses and challenges of my work, and life in general. It helps me keep my head in the moment, rather than thinking ahead or behind of myself. ‎It's a case of being present and creating mental space. It's easy to let everything roll into one, rather than compartmentalising what needs to be addressed when.  Meditation isn't just about sitting in silence in your best Budda stance. It's how you approach your day. ‎When I walk to my office, I try to observe what's going on around me, instead of ruminating over the tasks ahead. If I catch myself thinking about work, I ...

It was about forty minutes in to scouring YouTube for mouthwash adverts and taking screen grabs of them that I realised I don’t have a proper job. These small things take up time when you’re compiling any slideshow-based stand up. It’s less the case with ‘…and Ephgrave’ , which only features eighty slides at the moment (including blank ones), but the last version of mine and Glyn's show ‘Doggett & Ephgrave Project Stuff’ had 360 in it. You wouldn’t know when you watched it, as the mix of video clips, photographs, text and transitions disguise this, but it takes forever when you're piecing it together. I added a few more slides into my solo show today to make it more cohesive. Up until now, a reasonable chunk of the material didn’t use them. I wanted to bridge the gap, without putting pictures in for the sake of it. They’re good for clarity. While mine and Glyn’s Star Trek Porn Letter would work without the images of cast members in place of the sexual content,...

I had plans for my morning, until I saw they were discussing Jamelia's 20 Favourite Love Songs on 4Music. How could I leave home and miss the chance to glean such essential information? If I did, I’d spend the rest of the day on edge. I’d be out for breakfast with my wife, there in body, not in spirit. My mind would be reeling with potential choices and their rankings. By bedtime, I’d be a gibbering wreck. The following day, I’d scour the TV listings for news of the show’s next broadcast. I’d search the internet for a comprehensive list. If all else failed, I’d contact the programme’s production company and Jamelia’s agent in the hope that either one could fill me in. I wouldn’t rest until I knew which twenty love songs the lovely Jamelia loved the best. It doesn't matter that her choices were probably restricted to what music videos were available. It's irrelevant that I only vaguely know who Jamelia is.  It’s the way I am: I’m a completest. If there’s a co...

Today, in lieu of a proper blog post, I thought I'd share an interview I did for The New Current about my forthcoming stand-up show '...and Ephgrave' . ‎ I thought it would make for more interesting reading than hearing me whitter on about my day, which was mostly spent cropping and photoshopping promotional images, and submitting blurbs and press releases for my Camden Fringe run in August. While these things were all of practical importance, they don't bear recounting outside of the previous sentence. So, here it is. Click the link for a tale of mystery and intrigue - and for a lovely picture of a suited-and-bearded me. New Current Interview   

I feel like I've turned a corner with how to approach my show today.  When you work on material for too long, you can start to lose faith in it. This is particularly the case when you run it repeatedly in a room to yourself. Stand-up needs feedback, be it from a director or an audience. Without this, you have nothing to spark off of. You end up trying to entertain yourself - or worse still, over-thinking the delivery of every joke, until they fall flat.  You start to disconnect from your material. It's like doing a long run of a play. After awhile, the lines cease to have any meaning. You could deliver them in your sleep. You stop listening to the other actors, thinking your character's thoughts, or being in the moment. It's the same with stand-up. Your job is to tell a story clearly, truthfully and amusingly, while keeping it fresh. You have to listen to - and connect with - the audience. It's a conversation between you and them. If you go through the motio...