Richard Thompson, w/ special guests Steve Robinson & Ed Woltil - Tampa Theater, Friday, Feb 3rd.

I love this theatre. It's gaudy and beautiful at the same time. A bit like my adopted homeland, you might say. You might. I wouldn't, of course; might come across a trifle haughty and judgmental. A bit like the old country, you might say. You might. I wouldn't, of course; it might appear fickle and ungrateful. A bit like the French.

Jesting of course. I don't have anything against France, or any other nation come to that (except Argentina, of course). Sometimes you just have to have a laugh don't you? Joie de vivre and all that.

What the hell am I talking about? I have to wonder sometimes. What I should be talking about is the upcoming show with the legendary Richard Thompson this coming Friday. My musical comrade of Dutch extraction, Ed Woltil, and I are huge RT fans and we're both well chuffed to be opening the show. 

The doors open at 7 pm and Ed and I go on at 8. We'll be playing a selection of songs from our upcoming Sunshine Drenchy CD release, Cycle, and then settling in to enjoy a set from one of our musical heroes.  Should be a lovely evening. 

Hope they move that big organ from the stage though. Looks a bit intimidating to me. A bit like Germany.

Love is real...

...and sometimes it's really complicated, messy and ragged, often taking a long time to mature. A bit like songs, I suppose.

The chords and melody of this song were married back in the early 80s. I was still living in England at the time and had inherited an old upright piano that I used to plonk away on, gamely trying to figure out how to play Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again, Naturally. (Yes, I've always been quite the hipster.)

Love is Real was the first original song that I came up with on the piano. Now, if that were entirely true, I might be quite proud of myself. As it happens, I cringe with embarrassment whenever I recall the original lyrics I came up with. Mercifully, I've blocked out many of them, but I do remember that the working title was "After All", with the chorus being built around the woeful phrase - "Love's not all ... after all". Ugh.

Yes, it was all written from the dour point of view of a lover spurned and giving up on the idea of real love. It wouldn't be so bad if it had been based on a real life experience, and I was simply venting or expressing true sorrow. Alas, I rather think it was merely a half-arsed, self-indulgent exercise in dopey doe-eyed singer-songwritery. Even then, I must have known it was crap, because it sat untouched for some 25 years or so.

Truth be told, I was always quite fond of the melody and the chord progression, and thought it had potential, and I'd long intended to rescue it from the scrap heap and write some new lyrics for it. As it turned out, it took me until 2006 to actually get around to it. Talk about a lazy songwriter!

As it happened, I'd been working on a bunch of songs that would ultimately surface on the Undercurrent CD, and for grits and shins, I decided to record a snippet of After All (Ugh) to see if it inspired anything. Like I often do when coming up with lyrics, I set up the vocal mic and sang stream of consciousness-type gibberish over the recorded instrumental track in the hope that something remotely usable might pop out.

This process can be alternately funny, frustrating, fruitful, futile, and various other terms sometimes beginning with "f". It can also be particularly harrowing for anyone in the vicinity who overhears what you're doing. Since I record at home and I live in a small house, my family has to endure such indignities on a regular basis.

Sometimes, the noises made aren't even real words; they're just noises (a bit like a Geordie accent, really*) that act as a sort of placeholder for the lyrics when (and if) they finally come to you. Other times, phrases that have no business being anywhere close to a song tumble out from Lord-knows-where and make you question your own sanity. Once in a while though, you'll vomit up a line that excites you, and you realise that you can build a song around it. Some might consider it profound and poetic; others may find it closer to peurile or pathetic (and various other terms beginning with "p") but, it hardly matters. When that moment of recognition happens to you, and the words actually please you, it can be exhilarating. And it keeps you coming back for more.

In this instance (please excuse the soul baring here - I'm cringing, if that helps) the rather daft, and certainly cringe-worthy phrase - "Hide behind the corner, hide behind that tree" tumbled out of my mouth. (Ugh.) But, before I had the chance to roll my eyes in disgust, the line - "You'll find love is real" had tumbled out of mouth and plopped into my lap, and I thought - Love is Real, there's your song, dear boy.

So, all the other lyrical snippets (including any and all mystifying tree references) were stripped away and all I had to do was piece together the rest of the song around that phrase. Just like that, it went from a whiny 'love is nothing but a pain in the arse' lament, to an exulting 'love is everything' lullaby.

Like I said, whether it's good, bad or mediocre, hardly matters, really. For me, the process is just so thrilling. Sometimes they take days to blossom; sometimes they take decades, and sometimes they don't flower at all. I really don't understand how songs happen, or for that matter why I've suddenly taken to using flowery metaphors. What I do know is that I'm just grateful for every little brush against the beautiful mystery that is songwriting.

What does any of this have to do with the old film clip from "The Sealed Room" that I snared for this little video? I'm buggered if I know, although on reflection, a sealed room might be perfect for any future songwriting brainstorming sessions. It's certainly be appreciated by my poor family and neighbours. Nah, I'm just a sucker for these old silent films. This one features a minstrel who looks like he just stepped out of an old Monty Python sketch. Good enough for me.

* No offence intended to Tynesiders; I've recently been immersed in Steve Coogan's "I'm Alan Partridge" TV series and it's rubbing off on me I'm afraid.

"Once the cat is bitten, the mice will play shy" and other rubbish sayings...

Apparently, Malcolm Carter of Pennyblack Music fame thinks I should be selling "shed loads of albums". He says so in his Review of "The Ride of Our Lives". He's a kind man. Naive, but kind. 

Yes, selling CDs these days is insanely difficult. Though many punters are now accustomed to getting music for nothing, they often mistrust you if you actually do give it away. A sort of "If he's giving it away, it can't be any good" conundrum that's hard to battle. 

Best not to try, really. Just pour your heart and soul into it and let the chips fall where they may, is what I say. Of course, I'm also known to say - "A beauty bird in the hand is worth two in the bush of the beholder" on occasion, so I'm not sure I can be trusted.

Be that as it may, once in a while your music tickles someone's ear enough that they feel compelled to buy some of it; sometimes they even publish reviews, which is lovely. 

Yes, despite widespread economic malaise, financial doldrums and other assorted stultifying media catch-phrases, people have been very generous. Jonathon and Ophelia Titmarsh of Shingay-cum-Wendy in Cambridgeshire, England were even kind enough to buy several copies as gifts for family and friends, and although they wish to remain anonymous, I've mentioned them here because I think their names are adorable.

Further, Steven Ferra, the kindly gent at the Absolute Powerpop blog had this to say about my humble little EP, while Music To Eat's Rob Caldwell actually included it in his Top 15  of 2011.

You have to smile don't you? Small victories all, to be sure, but like I always say -" Too many hands in the cook make light work of the broth".

The Ride of Our Lives EP now available...

Yes, The Ride of Our Lives EP is finally available for purchase! Read on for the What?, the Where?, the How Much? and the Why?...

What?  I said - "Yes, The Ride of Our Lives EP is finally available for purchase!"  Are you not paying attention?

Where? Why, from all fine purveyors of nostalgic folk-that-poppery and finger-pluckery of course. But, since such vendors are a bit thin on the ground these days, you can always find it in my Bandcamp  store. There, you can either download it in your choice of format (including lossless .wav or aiff files - perfect for the audio snob in your life), or buy an actual compact disc thingy that doubles beautifully as a shaving mirror or beer mat. CD Baby is also selling them, of course, and downloads should be available at iTunes and other assorted download sites shortly. 

How much? A paltry $6 plus shipping. Isn't that a bit cheap? You bet your bottom six dollars it is! Not only that, the first 50 customers will also receive a never-to-be-sold-in-stores (and for good bloody reason) 12-piece set of kitchen knives with fairly sharp blades. 

Why? Why record and release overly nostalgic songs addled with midlife rumination and introspection? Er, now I'm flummoxed.... well, I suppose because the alternative is to not do it, which is a rubbish alternative in my opinion. For men of a certain age it's also cheaper and slightly less cheesy than buying a sports car. 

Life is a Carnival...

Good times, clean rhymes and riddles. Ah, those were the days. Well, I'm assuming they were, although this footage is from the 40s which means I wasn't there, so don't take my word for it.

Come to think of it, I wasn't there in the 50s or 60s either, since this is Coney Island and I've never actually set foot in the place. Still, since the song's lyric does have an air of innocence and nostalgia about it, to me it does seem to fit the mood and theme of the visual somewhat. Ah, good old dramatic license...

Riddles is from the upcoming The Ride of Our Lives EP, which will be available very soon for purchase from reputable emporiums and dodgy vendors alike. Details to follow shortly, it says here.

Random Public Service Announcement:

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FolkAlley.com is listener supported and relies on donations and sponsorships to fund the web site and the music streams. Folk Music is disappearing from radio playlists and store shelves. Folk Alley aims to reverse this trend by bringing traditional, Celtic, bluegrass, Americana, singer/songwriter, acoustic and world styles to music lovers – young and old – around the globe through the Internet. Click Here  to make a donation today.

Yes, Folk Alley is a bit of a treasure and deserves our support. I should add that his has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they just selected me as their Open Mic Artist of the Month.

That one kills and this one saves...

Back when I was recording the Undercurrent CD, I was going to toss this song out because I didn't want to come across like a cheesy, overly earnest protest singer. I sent a bare bones version to co-producer/studio bully Ed Woltil for his opinion, and he forbade me to give up on it, sending it back with a fabulous string arrangement on it. What would I do without him?