On 12th February my band and I will be playing a special concert at The Jazz Cafe for HMV’s ‘Next Big Thing’ series. Also playing will be Sam Brookes and Liam Blake. It’ll be the curtain raiser for what will hopefully be a big year of tours and recording.
For tickets, just click the link below.
I did send this to mailing list before christmas, but I’m only putting it online in January. Boo!
Even worse I’ve artificially changed the date of this post to before xmas so it looks like I posted it in time. Why do I do that? I feel like a fraud :-(
Still – it doesn’t change the fact that it’s an awesome custom Christmas Card. Thank you to my dear friend Kevin Pollard for designing it!… Read the rest
A few weeks ago I put pen to paper on a one-album deal to release Many Fish To Fry in every record shop in the land, along with a big marketing campaign. It’s going to be released on my own label – Sandwich Emporium Records – but through Universal who are right behind us. With a little luck, and some support from you, it might even get a bit of radio play and press to go with it.
All physical copies will be special editions of the album, including a bonus DVD of a full-length concert and a track-by-track interview. The album is now off sale until its release in March, but you’ll be able to pre-order it well before then to get it on your doormat first. If you’ve already got a copy that’s cool – no pressure to get this one too!
We’ll be working closely with HMV, … Read the rest
There’s something quite intoxicating about a silent crowd.
When you first start doing gigs the crowd is like a wild lion to tame, and more often than not you expect to get mauled. Rise up through the ranks and one day the crowd might become yours – silent, compliant and rolling over like a house cat.
But be warned, don’t forget the value of a few claws, a few play fights. Those who can’t help but shout things out, remind you they’re still there, rage against the dying of the house lights. Otherwise that generic film line starts creeping in… “Hmm…. It’s almost… too quiet…”… Read the rest
Do you like goalkeeping dogs? Minty cake? How about excellent hospitality? You should think about a visit to Kendal.
Everyone comes to a gig via their own route. You might have just broken up with someone, maybe you had a great day at work, maybe you miss someone, maybe you want to party, maybe you want to talk to no one and be miserable.
As well as that everyone has their own relationship with the music. Is this song uplifting or depressing? Is that song about relationships with others or our relationship with ourselves? What does it all mean? Your favourite song may be someone else’s least favourite.… Read the rest
Should all artists be good raconteurs? Just because you’re comfortable communicating using music doesn’t mean you’re comfortable communicating using words in general. In fact maybe you started to communicate using music exactly because you struggled to communicate like everyone else does and you felt isolated.
That’s what sort of happened with me. Then one day I find myself in front of a radio voice asking me to pick my ‘weirdest story’ on live radio. I’ve heard other people do this well, but my mind is blank, the question is too generic to fire any particular weird story synapse. Why can’t this question just piss off? I’m a songwriter, not a clever story slash witty comment conjurer.… Read the rest
Photo: James Dark
God I love this job. Tonight a massive crowd sang all the songs back at us, and I shared the stage again with Tom McQ.… Read the rest
I must admit I wasn’t totally convinced it should be me who hands her the ring. What if she gets confused as to who was asking the question?
I do love how there are just no two days alike on tour. That’s partly because if you’re gigging at this level you don’t control very much – you get what you’re given – which is different every time.
Here in Exeter we had to wait until 10:30pm for the diners to finish before the fans who had come to the gig could get in. Some had been waiting outside for ages, one was heavily pregnant, some sacked it off and went home. Everyone was apologising to each other.… Read the rest
I can count on one hand the number of songs that have utterly ripped my world apart in my adult life. I’m not just talking about “wow that’s my song of the year”. I mean full-on, powerless obsession – there when you wake up, with you all day and keeping you awake all night.
I have a theory that whenever a song is stuck in your head, the best way to rid yourself of it is to sit down and put it on repeat, no matter how embarassing or irritating it is. This might sound like the last thing you’d want to do with Michael Bublé (depending on your preference), but bloody hell it works. Your brain is saying “You may not like that you like this, but you DO like this. So stop lying to yourself, and listen to the goddamn track.” With its desire sated, it moves on.… Read the rest
