Gamlingay Battle of the Bands

I ran the sound for the inaugural Gamlingay Battle of the Bands on Saturday. We had the local community centre which is a fairly large standard community hall and had 10 band splaying and about 250 in the audience. The day ran from 3.00 – 11.00 and there were two categories – under 17s and 17-25 yr olds.
In the order that they played, the bands were:
Under 17s
- Target n Takedown
- Default Affection
- Pretty Tied Up
- Call this a Comeback
17-25s
- Screwd
- Error 404
- Phoenix Impact
- The Jamlingjays
- Noise
- FTA
The standard was much higher than we had expected with all bands putting in good performances, with some of them great. The judging panel consisted of local music business luminaries who came along and decided on the winners and losers.
For the sound we hired and Allen and Heath GL2200 mixing desk, lexicon effects and behringer and Peavey PA management systems and achieved a loud but controlled front of house sound by keeping stage levels (relatively) low, which meant I could mix PA sound to suit the audience – always the better option.
We used my EBS bass rig, which performed impeccably (as you would expect) even when some a**e spilled beer on it. We had Marshall and fender guitar amps, which most guitarists stuck to and kept a core drum kit from start to finish.
I had Wayne Hipgrave helping me with the sound, a local celebrity and fireman – he was excellent – really calm and helpful – he sorted out a number of on-stage issues we had.
The under 17s kicked off at 3.30 and 4 bands played. The standard was surprisingly high, with some guitar playing worthy of much older musicians, IMHO. The first band Target n Takedown were excellent – a really difficult thing to do to open the event. Then we had Default Affection, a more funky sound. They were great too with great promise. Pretty tied up were the most punk we had with loads of attitude. Loved them. Call this a comeback were the last of the under 17s and were very good – they really got the crowd going and were a fine finish to the first part of the day's proceedings.
By 5:40 they had all finished but they had to wait until the end to find out who had won. That gave them the chance to chill and listen to the older bands. The winners of this section were Target n Takedown – the judges saw lots of potential there.
After they had finished local singer/songwriter, who had entered the competition with his band, only to have the band break up a week before the gig, treated us to a few songs, including some of his own.
The second part started at 7.00 and we were treated to some amazingly good performances. There were some real highlights, and all of the bands performed well and got sections of the crowd going. The first band on, Screwd were a revelation, with a distinctive sound, some excellent bass and some interesting songs. The eventual winners, Error 404, from outside the area, were very polished and early set the night rocking. Really tight sound and vocals with lots of harmony and counterpoint(!!!!!) The Jamlingjays (despite a rather old looking 25yr old bass player) were great with some amazing bass playing and quite an individual style. Local lads Phoenix Impact made quite an impression, with their distinctive vocal sound and some really good guitar playing, and one of the judges had said he will keep an eye on them over the next 6 months to see how they develop. We also had an amazing Nervana-esque band called Noise – perhaps a bit too copycat to win the competition, but really good. The last band, FTA were also amazing and really worked the crowd. Very tight and polished.
The evening ended at 11.00 and most of the clear up was done by 12:30. I wasn't able to get back on Sunday to help with more clearing up as I had to record a promising young jazz duo, but by all accounts the village was buzzing with talk of the gig and all consider it to have been a real success. To cap it all, the press team had worked really hard, and Anglia News did a small feature on the competition, showing the young section winners Target n Takedown and an interview with Bridget, our tireless organiser and inspiration. And my bass amp was on telly!!!!
Thanks to all who took part, came to watch or helped in any way. All our efforts were worthwhile. A special mention must go to Chris and her fantastic hot dogs. But let's not forget the lads who had made it happen and the adult volunteers who played such a massive part – you know who you are. Now please enjoy some of the left over beer!

Soho

What a night! They had a goodbye bash for me last night and went out to a jazz club in Soho. Excellent music. Drank far to omuch beer and then wine and then beer again and so am very hung over today. More at another time I think. Wish me a speedy recovery.

A new beginning?

I am coming to the end of a contract (mgmt consultancy) at the end of next week. I am really looking forward to it, as I should then have time to concentrate a little more on music and tidying the house. I have been commuting to London (mostly) for 19 months now and had forgotten how soul-destroying commuting can be.

On the plus side, received some very positive feedback on the songs posted on MySpace today. Now need to turn that into gigs!!

Music on-line

I have at last created a Facebook and MySpace profle and uploaded 3 tracks to MySpace. When I was a boy, My Destiny and Out of Reach. Go and have a listen and let me know what you think.

I am lonely on there however, so come and be my friend.

Mixing a school production

Today I am prepping a mix for a recording I made of a school show. I recorded the dress rehearsal as well as the two performances, using my Neumann mics and the quality is great (as you would expect). As I was performing too (on bass) I just had to set it up and let it run – there doesn’t appear to be any clipping (digital distortion). The speech levels are rather low, so I am cutting these chunks out and will normalise them up to an acceptable level.

I recorded with the two mics about 5m apart at about 8ft directed to hit the stage at just below head height, towards the PA n one side and the PA/orchestra on the other. I should get the chance to start mixing tonight.
On the running front I have completed three short runs since the ankle felt strong enough. They have been hard work and slow, but then I have put on nearly a stone in weight – I hope to reduce this over 3 months back to where I was… Wish me luck (but not pasties).

A long aniticipated return

After 11 weeks of frustrating inactivity due to an ankle injury, I finally took my first steps back running (well jogging) at the weekend. At the end of a two week holiday in the English Lake District (and having done some cycling - from Runcorn to Gretna in three stages as part of a longer term project) I ran 2 miles. "Running" is flattering really, as I felt heavy, ungainly and slow. In fact I felt like I was waddling. I went slowly, watched my heart rate and even managed a bit of a hill, but you know, it felt so good - I came back with a pain in my knee. My knee hurt. My breath was short and rather laboured. My feet felt like they had been pummelled with a wooden mallet. And why did that feel so good? I had no reaction from my ankle. It just worked.

The worst gig in history?

I played an impromptu gig the other night. I shouldn’t have, as it was probably the worst solo one I have ever done and one of the worst ever in any band/orchestra.

We were at someone’s 50th birthday party and 3 months previously when the party was going to be in a village hall with 200 people I’d been asked to play. A month or so ago, however, plans changed and it turned into a much smaller number of people at the birthday boy’s house.

The party was lame so I had this vision of me bringing the while thing to life. I went home to get my gear and couldn’t find my lyrics folder so, after much searching, decided to go ahead anyway.

I set up and played, but there were two or three songs where I really struggled with the lyrics. Bad decision. I shouldn’t have done them. Also I was putting all outputs through a mixer and using a monitor speaker instead of PA (remember it was just in someone’s house). But the volume of the monitor varied. All of a sudden it decreased markedly in volume and then just as suddenly, 5 mins later, it shot back up again. There must have been 15-20 people there and many of them stayed outside, so I was playing to anything between 2 and 10 people. I also am tired at the moment so one song was a struggle in a high bit.

After I had finished, 4 others took up the reins and did some stuff from a songbook – they were OK. Quite good bass playing, though I didn’t like the singer’s voice – it was a bit weedy.

Anyway, the party finished at about 1.00 and I packed up and went home, being thanked for “getting the party going”. The good thing is, I will never let myself be that bad again. I had not rehearsed more than 4 of the songs, and was consequently rusty. On top of the prevailing conditions it was a disaster from my point of view. The good thing is that people enjoyed it, and it got the birthday boy up singing and dancing.

If anyone has any pics, send them though and I’ll post them.

Have a meeting next week on that business idea I mentioned in the post below. Wish me luck. It could be the start of something…
Love and peace

Developments

The last night of the performance went OK. I managed to wear my shades for the rock number towards the end which went down very well with the pupils. Need to find some time to work on the recording now.

I then went to Winchester to record the two teenagers, taking Vicky with me to be their accompanist. Having been told to expect 6 jazzy numbers we ended up recording 13 a mixture of classical and modern with only one jazzy number. The two girls had, however, beautiful voices and I hope I have captured them adequately. I expect there will be some problems, however, as I was also acting as page turner and I think we have some distortion on at least one of the mics. I used a new preamp – a focusright- I think I need to spend some time with it, as it wasn’t quite as I had expected.

Developments – I have at last received a reply from an organisation I have been chasing on a new business idea agreeing to meet up to discuss it. They have offered me a date next week which I cannot do, so I have asked for an alternative. Wish me luck, as this could be the start of something (which song was the signature tune of a dance band I us to play in).

Playing and recording together

I have been asked to play bass and record a school production. We had the dress rehearsal on Monday evening - this was the first time the band had seen the music (though in truth we had been given the music some weeks before, but none had had the chance to look at it). The music was pretty straightforward for me, with a couple of tricky bits and once piece in 6 flats. Bt mostly it is just about getting to know the music and being able to put it all together. There are c. 50 pupils taking part including two of my children. I am lucky enough to be seen as the cool one on the bass.

For recording I am using my Neumann mics at the back of he hall with the two mics about 10 feet apart pointing slightly away from each other towards the edges of the stage. This gives me a good stereo image, though I thought I had timing problems (speed of sound) which was actually just the fact that I had moved one track slightly in the software, so that they were playing an eighth of a second apart

The recording quality is great (24bit 96K), the only issue I have is that I cannot ride the gain levels as I am playing most of the time – I have to set the input levels so that it won’t distort.

Dress rehearsal and first night recording seem OK – let’s see if they are better tonight for the last performance.

On Friday I am due to record a couple of teenagers singing some classical and a little modern stuff – different issues there – more anon.

Back on the road

But not in a musical sense. Today I have just got back onto my bike after 4 weeks' lay off through injury. It felt sooooooo good to be outside. My ankle was OK - a few twinges and a little aching if I tried too hard, but it is GREAT to be able to do something again.

I would post a picture of my ankle but the camera seems to be a little defunct at the minute.

I received a call from the Vodafone woman again trying to sort a date out for the recording of her daughter and a friend. I will aim to do the date or I might miss the opportunity. Also I have been asked to come up with a tune for a song from a brilliant up and coming duo - one of my daughters and a friend of hers.

I love music!!

What a weekend

What an amazing weekend. I could divide it into a number of sections:

1. Birthday
2. Entertainment
3. Home Improvements
4. Work
You’ll notice there is no music in there. The only music I managed was as part of number 1 – Birthday.

1. Birthday
It was middle’un’s 10th birthday on Saturday. Must be a lucky day – 07/07/07.

She had breakfast and presents and then had a ballet rehearsal for next week’s show. Her favourite present was, I think, her horse t-shirt, though the “make a tardis and cyberman’ Kit and Doctor who DVD came close.

After ballet we took her into Town to buy her new bike, which we chose, and had a big sandwich for lunch in a churchyard where a pretty girl and handsome boy were getting married.

Then we went to the church hall to set up. I meant to mow the lawn, but didn’t get the chance. The grass is about 9 inches long at the minute and makes the house look even more terrible than ever. After setting up we came back, Jen cooked pizzas and cakes and I found a way of suspending a piñata from a pulley in the church hall, having to take my ladder.

At the part there were about 25 children, and we were really worried they were going to riot at the beginning. You would think balloons would be harmless enough, but they were vicious. I got ballooned by this little dot of a girl who had a balloon punch like Frank Bruno. We calmed them down with the first game (balloon bursting) and then some formation dancing (Cha-cha slide seemed to work quite well). The party went well after that, though I disappointed 2 girls by naming someone else the winner of the girls’ dancing competition, and Jen had to put that right with chocolates. For he boys’ competition Ed and Jordan shared first prize with a sort of hip-hop tango. The piñata eventually broke, after everyone had had a shot with the blindfold on, and in the melee to get sweets one poor girl was given a bloody nose by a stray elbow.
We were finished and out by 10.00 pm and had some champagne back at home. And the music bit was that I was D.J. and Karaoke-meister (or is it sensei?)

2. Entertainment
My mum came to help with the party. A long-lost godmother to one of my other children also came to help, but needed picking up after the party had started – difficult when there was a riot going on with balloons. Mum went to get our friend, and afterwards we drank the champagne while the house settled into post-fiesta-chaos. The next morning I got up early to make sure our friend got back on a train to London, then came home. Mum left an hour later and we breathed a sigh of relief. Not that we hadn’t enjoyed having our overnight guests; we had. But it had been a long day and a quarter. I had a lot of work to do and I still hadn’t cut the grass.
The phone went. Jen’s brother, sister-in-law and still quite new nephew were coming for lunch! We had no food to speak of (other than left over-pizza). It was great to see them. We had lunch, talked, played “Cashflow” and looked at Jen's brother’s new trumpet. We had tea. Hey left at about 8.00. Again it was great to see them, but we were both exhausted.

3. Home improvements
I was determined to mow the lawn. Eventually on Sunday while the others walked the dogs I mowed the lawn. It only took 45 mins and I only jarred my ankle on the dog-burrowed, uneven, poop-interspersed surface once.

I also was determined to wood stain the front door fame. I and given the front door a second coat of paint after Uncle Jack and Aunty Anne’s visit during the previous week, and the frame looked tatty and un-loved. Trouble is it needed three coats. I got 2 done, as the weather was warm. About 3 hrs total, after mum left, including a trip to a DIY shop to buy the woodstain and a couple of add-ons. The second coat just before mowing the lawn while the others were walking the pooping doggies. Didn’t manage to get the third coat done.

I also managed to take a car load (Volvo estate mind!) to the dump, where I had to queue for 15 mins as everyone has the same idea as me.

4. Work
I also had a day’s worth of work to do (not music). I started it while Cashflow was being played, peppered it with door paining and lawn mowing, and stayed up until 1:30. I didn’t finish it, but got quite close and sent it out to some people.

Epilogue
While doing all of this, I managed to see significant bits of the British Grand Prix (Lewis Hamilton third), the Wimbledon men’s singles finals (Federer beat Nadal in 5 sets to take his 5th consecutive Wimbledon title) and the Mixed doubles final (Murray and Jankowic won).

I went to bed dog tired and thanking my stars for the enjoyable weekend and the fact that I could lie in until 7 a.m., as I only had to go to Cambridge today.

Further Fysical Frustration

Back to the physio this morning. She did further ultrasound on the tendon over the top of the ankle bone and then started working on the one behind. Her face dropped, as she asked “does this hurt”. I don’t know whether she was prompted by her feeling of the tendon or the fact that I had recoiled in agony to the corner of the couch, but either was I confirmed that I did, indeed, feel that. After a little more prodding and thinking she said that she thinks I may have ruptured the sheath around the long tendon that comes from the calf muscle around the underneath of the ankle bone and that it would therefore take a while longer before it was healed.

That appears to mean that running for the next few weeks is still out of the question, which in turn means I will put on even more weight.

So let’s think of something positive (apart from the fact that, really, this is not a major problem for thee world). I have been dreaming up a business idea for the last few days and I think it may be viable. There seem to be a lot of other people trying to do the same thing, but do you know what? that makes me happy. VCs appear to have thrown millions at these start-ups, but I don’t see anyone yet aggressively marketing it to the target market I think might buy. Also, I came up with this idea independently, without any knowledge that others were doing it. That’s a good feeling as it makes me think maybe my ideas aren’t as cr*p as I sometimes fear. I’ll think about it a but more and decide over the next couple of weeks whether it is worth pursuing it seriously or not.

Separately, someone else wants me to record them for a demo CD. All in all, life’s not that bad after all!

Love

What's the alternative?

Ok, so Saturday will have been 4 weeks since I injured my ankle, and I am really frustrated with not being able to get out and run. I'm sure I have your sympathy, as I know I'm not the only one to have gone through this sort of thing. I'm putting weight back on, feeling sorry for myself all the time and generally lacking energy. What can you suggest I do instead of running? At this stage I would be happy with serious sports / exercise suggestions or indeed not-so-serious suggestions which might be very far away from the closeted world of running?
In frustration!
Yours
Phil

It gives me no pleasure to have been right

So there was another car bomb that failed to detonate and then a car driven into the passenger terminal at Glasgow airport.

How callous and arrogant to assume that your lives and beliefs are so much more important than those of others. I think I must be turning right wing – they say it happens with age – What is it? If you are not an anarchist at 16, communist at 20 and Tory at 40 there’s something wrong with you?

On the music front, I’ve been asked to record a school performance for sale to parents. About 150 double CDs is the estimate. Must get back in contact with my CD printer acquaintance and see what can be done.

The foot is still sore. It swells up on the join between leg and foot on top of the foot at the end of each day. Getting around London is no fun, but today, when Kings Cross was closed for overcrowding, I was let in. Vivan los crutches!
Love and peace

Mixing or cutting and pasting

Again, first an update on the foot. It seems to be settling down now. Most of the swelling has gone, but I am travelling into London daily on a consultancy assignment and in the evening it is quite swollen on top of the ankle bone. I tried without crutches on Monday, but reverted to them for the rest of this week. Today they have discovered a gas-cylinder and nail bomb in Haymarket, about a mile from where my assignment is. This is on the day after Mr Brown has taken over as Prime Minister, so I expected something. I also expect there to be further discoveries / attempts today - that has been the pattern over recent years with these attacks. Getting home tonight will be interesting!

The bruising has virtually all disappeared now, except for on the side of my leg where it is still pretty purple (though not very pretty), very nearly three weeks after the fateful football fiasco and I am looking forward to increasing my mobility and perhaps getting back to some longer walks without sticks.

In terms of music I composed a piece for my wife for Christmas called "Unceremoniously carolled" for several players and too man instruments where most people had multiple parts. We played it at Easter, with my good friend John Brown conducting our make-shift orchestra and I recorded it using my new Neumann microphones (good ones for those who won't know). Unfortunately the playing wasn't up to the standard I had hoped(!) so there will be a great deal of cutting and pasting of different takes, and mixing to try to get a decent sound. We took some great photos on the day and I aim to produce a CD for all participants over the next few weeks, though I think it will be quite a taxing editing job.

I’m not quite sure how to approach it either, so it should be an interesting and rewarding experience. Again I will post clips somewhere (should really re-activate my myspace account) so that you can hear previews and final versions.

Love and peace.

Another work opportunity?

But first the foot. It feels like it has slowed down its recovery. It is a little more swollen around the ankle than a few days ago, the bruising is really on its way out now. Here area a couple more pictures. You can see a little more the bruising on my leg and toes. The problem is, because the pain has mostly gone, I try to do more and then it swells and hurts. Take yesterday, I spent from 9.00 until 5.00 clearing things up n the house and garage (there is so much to do!). By 5.00 it was quite painful. I had been in and out of the garage, twisting and turning like a twisty turney thing, in tight spaces. I had to go back to the frozen peas for quite a while.

Anyway, back to the music. My wife came home from reflexology (foot-feeley) with the news that a friend of ours would like us to record him playing some Bach. He plays in one of London's top orchestras and is considering an exchange to Australia, needing to put together a CD to send.

Secondly, as I was busy putting up shelves late on Friday night, the office phone rang. On the other end, and quite flustered that she had not just got the answer machine, was a lady whom I had recorded as part of a 40-strong group on a ship in Gosport harbour. Her daughter and a friend would like to record a CD of c. 6 classical / jazz standards and would I be interested in producing it. Of course I would. We have to agree date and venue, but what a thrill to have been remembered and asked to do this, especially for someone's 14 year old daughter and friend - I think that shows a lot of trust in me and what I do, as it would take a lot to allow some (almost) stranger in to my daughters' lives.

I'll keep you updated with progress.

Continued incapacity

I'm still struggling to walk properly, though I have ditched the crutches. I've seen the physio 4 times now and today we had acupuncture, as well as ultrasound, "manipulation" (a euphemistic terms for "seeing if we can pull the ankle joint apart") and deep tissue massage of the calf. It was also once more at 7.00 am. Mad things these New Zealanders, though I admit it gets me into the day well. Here's another couple of pictures of the injured foot, taken the day before yesterday. Yuk. Still all fat and swollen. The bruising has come out a bit more since I took these, and now middle toe is purple all over. Really purple, with slight jaundicey-yellow edges. Lovely.

On the music front, I completed a dance track at the weekend called Hard Day. It's not great, but it's the first I've done for many a year (and it sounds a bit 90s to me at this stage). It needs mastering yet, which I may get the chance to do at the weekend. Once done I'll post it somewhere. Let me know what you think.
Love

Swelling

I went into London today for work. I was dropped off at Sandy station by my family and trekked in. I managed to get back at lunch time, but my foot was really quite swollen again by that stage. Not as badly as it had been originally, but it has shown me that I need to keep it elevated.

I finished reading Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie today. That puts things into perspective. Yes, my foot is sore; yes, my calf muscles ache; yes, my thighs are losing their hardness; and yes, my tummy is coming back again. But I think I want to spend my time being happier with things, so I will concentrate on the facts that we had some tremendous rain today, some warm sunshine and there are two loved-up rabbits outside my office window.
Back to the physio tomorrow morning. I’ll take a new picture of my foot to see how it is compared to yesterday.

Frustration in the rain

Today it is raining heavily. Lots of good thunder and lightening, and a heavy atmosphere. It rather reflects my mood I'm afraid.

I went to casualty last night to get my ankle x-rayed, as per the telephone advice of the physio. They were pretty speedy actually at the hospital. Having been warned of a 2 hour wait, I actually got seen after about an hour and a half. The doctor said that it wasn't broken. He prodded and pushed various tendons and bones (which hurt a lot) and told me it could take from 2 - 10 weeks to mend. He offered to write me a sick note for my employer - but that's me, so there did not seem too much point in that.

This morning I went to see a physio. I've not seen her before - she is the new partner or employee of my usual physio who I could not get an appointment with. A kiwi, with a passion for English literature, she has just moved to near Cambridge to be in Europe and near such a literary hub. She seems to spend a lot of her time at the Orchard.

She prodded and poked and agreed that there was no fracture. Lots of ultrasound and another appointment for 7:30 on Saturday morning and a stiff strapping of the leg. I am left feeling bruised and sore from her work.

Today the muscle ache started. I have no idea about biology / physiology, but if I don't run regularly, after about a week my calf muscles start hurting. It feels like they are shrinking or stretching - I don't know which, but it is quite painful in a non-acute way and indicates that they are starting to lose some of their strength / elasticity. I guess someone will know what they are actually doing, as I assume this is normal. This is the start of the really frustrating period when I really want to get out there and really want to run far, and at the moment I really can't. Still, at least it is pouring with rain, so I would probably not go out today anyway!

Running injury

I run regularly. Usually 2 to 3 times per week and cover around 10-20 miles per week, sometimes more sometime less.

On Saturday I was playing in a football match. In our village one of my daughters plays in the local under 10s football team. They were having a "lads v dads" end of season game. My daughter and I had been ribbing each other all week about how the other was too afraid to play. One evening I went into her room to say goodnight and she started making chicken noises. Her elder sister bounced into the room and joined in. Very funny.

Anyway, we arrived late, due to a ballet class, and got on to play the second half. Most of the dads were much rounder than me(!) and I did a lot of running. However on chasing a ball from a throw in I twisted my ankle badly. I carried on playing, in quite a lot of pain (and nearly scored twice!), but after the game it was clear that my ankle was quite swollen.

I have now been at rest and on crutches for four days, and am trying to make an appointment to see my physio. I rang a doctor on Saturday, who confirmed that it was unlikely to be broken.
I thought I'd use this blog to track my frustrations and progress in rehab (no. no, no).

The images above show my foot on day four (top), and also yesterday, day three (bottom). Nice and purple and still swollen.

Wish me luck in my recovery

The unfulfilling life of a performer.....

Apart from the corproate teambuilding stuff I do, I also perform, either in a band "Troutface" or on my own. The last Troutface gig was however 2+ years ago and now one of our excellent guitarists Andy has moved to California. He's working on Santa Monica Boulevard. Sounds cool, but he's a Finance Director.

I have three solo gigs booked for the summer and had been merrily preparing. One has been cancelled, or rather, scaled back - it was supposed to be in a village hall for 100 people - it is now in a house - not sure whether I'll play or not. Another is a moving feast - it is supposed to be 16th June, but not sure if the venue can accomodate it (the house is having a patio re-done). The third is still on, as far as I am aware, though I haven't heard from the organiser for a couple of months.

And I am aching to perform so this all leads to frustration. If the worst comes to the worst I'll bore my wife and children with tired renditions of the same songs they've been hearing for months instead. Always a winner.

Just to say hello really

Just started.

I am writing this to keep track of the vagiaries of my professinal music life - the ups, downs and sidewayses of things. You never know it might get interesting.

I write music, produce, record and perform in many different styles and run a company that uses a recording experience as a corporate team-building event.

I will, no doubt, up date this sporadically; but check back and see if it grabs your attention.

Best wishes

Phil