Why I Love...

Over the years, Ed Woltil and I have been so fortunate to have been assisted in many a musical endeavour by one of our guitar heroes, Dave Gregory of XTC fame. Ed and I were both fans of Dave when we met back in the Tampa Bay area back in the early 80s, and remain so to this day. I'm totally ok with being a bit of a fan-boy, so I wrote a few words for the "At The Barrier" website about Mr Gregory. It's all right HERE.

Goldmine review

Heartfelt thanks to Lee Zimmerman at Goldmine Magazine for the nod of approval for my "Window Seat" record. You can read it HERE

Unnecessary War

Although some of the more politically tinged songs from recent records of mine have tended to be a little on the snarky side (some of them bordering on barely concealed rage, if I’m honest) "Unnecessary War" attempts to strike a more conciliatory tone. Being angry all the time is tiring, so rather than just going for another diatribe against the usual easy political targets, this one ended up as a bit of a plea for solidarity and understanding across the political divide, albeit with a darn good skewering of those on high horses who seek to pit us lowly folk against each other. Almost akin to poor old Mick Jagger’s, “People, why are we fighting?” plea to the seething crowd at Altamont in ’69. Not that I was there, of course - I was too young and in a different country, but still...

My cousin, David Wise, had shared with me a collection of dramatic WW2-themed pinhole camera shots that he'd taken in Europe, and I wondered if it might be interesting to use them as the backdrop of a lyric video for the song. Now, David and I have never actually met (long story) but it turns out we are very much alike. Consider this quote from a 2023 article in The Hamilton Spectator about him and his pinhole photography: “He has slept on the desert floor in the Sahara and walked and run hundreds of miles at a time across several continents.” Ok, so maybe we’re not really alike at all. I mean, I’m such a cautious homebody these days, that I’ve been known to contemplate getting travel insurance before heading out to the Publix downtown for our weekly shopping excursion. My idea of risky behaviour is to eat a bowlful of ice cream while sitting on the couch without a napkin. Truth be told, I’m a little in awe of him, so I’m really happy that our creative lives have clashed this way. By the way, the article is worth a read; it’s right here: https://www.thespec.com/.../article_9ed8c2c7-6ae6-58e7...

As he usually does, my friend Ed Woltil helped me traverse the minefields of my own technical ineptitude and created this seamless video for me after I’d picked out the shots I thought would work best to accompany the song. Funny thing is, after it was done, my cousin David happened to send me an old photo of our great-grandfather that I’d never seen before. In it, he was very young, and cut a striking figure dressed in his military finery, and after I shared it with Ed, he indicated that it should probably be added to the video. So, in it went (it shows up around the 2:30 minute mark) and I’m so glad he suggested it. Not just because I was hesitant to infringe on his time any further by asking him myself, but because ultimately, I think it makes a for a lovely and poignant addition to the photographic slide show.

After seeing the video, David mentioned to me that he’d like to think that our shared great-grandad would be quite tickled, and might well indeed raise a pint glass to the idea that one of his great grandsons would end up moving to Canada, the other to America, and would both one day connect via an artistic collaboration that would incorporate this very photo. Sappy old bugger that I am, I find the idea quite moving.

Anyway, onward to war stuff…

I Don’t Hear a Single…

It’s always nice to get word of an encouraging album review, especially when it comes in on your birthday. Thanks to Don Valentine for these kind words.

Read the review here:

Read Listen Watch

 

The first review for Window Seat is in. Thanks to Andres Kabel for the kind words!

Read his thoughts here: Window Seat

Golden (Interlude)

Are we golden?

Or beholden?

We left but never got too far

We said goodbye, but why?

Now here we are...

I've always been quite partial to interludes on albums - little song snippets that serve as a bit of a breather in the flow of more fully fledged songs. Sometimes they work well as a little segue into a song of a different mood and vibe; other times the listener may well just wonder, "What the hell was he thinking with this? It's barely a bloody song!"

Either way. I'm quite happy with this little daydream of a song fragment, and I've included it on the new "Window Seat" album. At the very least, I get the opportunity to marry it with a few photos from one of my favourite photographers, Bob Hinchcliffe, who shot these photos back in my hometown of Scunthorpe.

Take a Window Seat...

 

I've toiled, I've laboured, I've laughed, I've cried, I've repeatedly tripped over the dog in my makeshift recording studio. In between it all, I've somehow managed to cobble together another full-length album of songs. When I say, "I've managed", I do of course mean that "my trusted friend, Ed Woltil and I have managed" - for without his stellar production assistance and encouragement, I'd still be stumbling around my studio space, irate dog nipping at my heels, trying to figure out which buttons to push.

Be that as it may, I'm quite chuffed with this one. Ed's fab playing is all over it, my daughter Emma's harmony vocals adorn it, and my favourite guitar player out there, Dave Gregory, makes a couple of his customary appearances. I'm a lucky lad. 

The new record will soon be available at the usual streaming sites (iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Starving Artists R Us etc.) and hard copies in a rather suave gatefold CD wallet thingy with lovely artwork courtesy of Ed will also be available at Bandcamp. While it's not officially released until October 19th, I’m now set up for pre-orders at my Bandcamp page. Pre-ordering gets you two tracks now (Unnecessary War, the album opener which features the aforementioned Dave Gregory on guitar duty, and Treasure, the album's rather pastoral closer), plus the complete album the moment it’s released. If you need something to listen to on those lonely car journeys, you could do worse, you know. Have a look and listen here: Window Seat