Clik here to view.
A fun musical interlude with Henry Cluney, XSLF
Post gig, apparently we were supposed to be serious!On Sunday 26th April, the venue was The Wheatsheaf pub in Oxford, for a mid afternoon round of musical merriment organised by Purple May. Dee and I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What is live music for?
Isn’t music a strange thing? All human emotion can be portrayed through it, whether it be a couple of notes or a whole passage, sometimes subtly and sometimes with great force. We’re exposed to that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s all about the bass…
I’ve always been “into” music and, despite a brief time in my teens when I wanted to be drummer, bass lines are what really hook me. It’s no coincidence that my favourite playlists include great bass,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Music moves me
Don’t you just love it when you hear a piece of music and it makes the hairs on your arms, neck, back – whatever – stand on end? And isn’t it amazing that the same piece of music can do it over and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My experiences with stage fright
I started learning bass relatively late in life – I was nearly 40 – and it took a while before I was confident enough to look for a band to play with. I wasn’t really sure what sort of music I wanted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Music as a Crutch
We all have music we like to listen to, and music we hate. But have we ever stopped to wonder why music plays a part in our lives? I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching and introspection recently,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I think I must be part Boov
I have to admit that I’ve taken the phrase in the title image from the file “Home”, where an alien race called the Boov invade Earth. One of the Boov is called Oh (that’s what everyone says when he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Getting ready to rumble – Image #13
I’m very excited at the moment. I will have band news very shortly, as I’m off to meet some guys about that tomorrow, but in the meantime thought I’d share my two most recent purchases (one is a couple...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who sells Sanctuary? – Image #21
Apologies to The Cult for misquoting perhaps their most well known song (it’s an awesome one by the way), but I had the pleasure of rehearsing with my prospective new band at Sanctuary Studios. Today’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Get a Grip on Image #36
Ever had an ear worm? Not the invertebrate kind, but the piece of music that just goes round in your head and you can’t get rid of it? I’ve had one for the past couple of days, or rather, I’ve had a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hit me with your…earworm? Image #41
OK, so last week I wrote about having an earworm which was all about The Stranglers and JJ Burnel’s basslines in particular. The only way I could stop it was by playing a lot of their songs and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Happy Valentine’s Day – Image #45
Today is traditionally the day (in some cultures anyway) when lovers shower each other with gifts and cards and demonstrate their love for their partners in many different ways. For my part, I bought...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Model Jamming – Image #49
Tonight was my first “proper” rehearsal with my new band (I prefer to look at the last one as a kind of audition) and on the whole I think it went quite well. Some songs sounded pretty good given that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vintage Sounds – Image #59
I’ve recently joined a new band who play mostly rock ‘n’ roll and pop from the 50s, 60s and a bit of the 70s. I won’t claim that those are genres that I’m hugely familiar with, though obviously there...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Here’s the lowdown… Image #63
Tonight was a bit of an odd band practice night. For a start, it wasn’t the whole band! No Stu, no Spike, so drums and a guitar were missing. Then, Bert’s guitar wasn’t plugged in to anything so he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s Jake and Elwood… Image #71
When asked what my favourite film is, I don’t even have to pause to think about it for even a fraction of a second. The Blues Brothers is the ultimate for me. John Belushi as Jake (in case you’ve not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s new toy time – Image #73
And what a toy! Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been looking at Gumtree and eBay over the past few weeks, looking for a new toy to play with. I’ve also been visiting lots of music shops ogling bass...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Happy anniversary – Image #78
The other day I posted about being very excited, and this is why! Yesterday was St Patrick’s Day, and for the 25th consecutive year, my favourite band played at Barrowland in Glasgow. Stiff Little...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s Black and White for Image #83
I didn’t get to post this last night as it was pretty late by the time we got home. Dee and I had been to see The Stranglers, who were playing much of their album Black and White on this tour....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Covers can make you happy – Image #93
It’s rare to come across new music or new genres, and it’s pretty common to find people doing all sorts of covers. I wonder if your choice of versions is dependent on which version you hear first? For...
View Article