The Hills Are Alive

I can probably admit now to a little overconfidence in joining John for his running schedule. 5 miles? Eeeeasy. Up at 7:30am and wearing temporary £15 Tesco walking shoes, I set out into the Welsh countryside with John and Kev. Harry, a keen runner, had objected on moral grounds – “I don’t agree with running in the morning”. It turns out they don’t call it the valleys for nothing – I swear we ran up a vertical incline at one stage.

Walking for the rest of the week wasn’t easy. The hills and valleys in western wales are stunning but my calves were shot to pieces. A problem not made easier by the fact that the cottage floors tended to sweat, making them slippy. If in doubt I turned my inability to walk into a comedy dance.

It’s not a given that you can get everyone together for a week’s rehearsal. We managed one better by de-camping to a cottage on a dairy farm in the countryside. We set up all our gear in the living room by a log fire and spent 3 days learning new songs and tightening up old ones.

It’s really quite a special feeling when we’re all set up properly facing each other (unlike a gig), the sound levels are all perfect, and we’re letting the music really speak. It’s not often that a gig can totally match this epic rehearsal room balance, although the addition of an audience always makes up for that.

It made me wonder if I should set up a rehearsal room-style gig for a special occassion. Maybe in an interesting location? Drop a comment if you’d be up for that.

A quick note about the rare individuals that comprise my band. With each gig that goes under our belt they feel more like brothers. Talented at being musicians, talented at being people.

Besides if I did crave extra company, it’s never far away…