Today was great fun, and very rock and roll! I spent the morning shooting some video with BucksTV to promote the MAD About Waddesdon Music Arts and Drama event. It’s happening over the weekend of the 25th and 26th of June this year.
Today was great because I was out on my own – as a solo guitarist – and playing tunes that I’ve written/arranged myself, or worked on, with a view to trying to sound like guys like Martin Taylor and Clive Carroll. I played one tune in particular called, ‘The Second Time Around’, which was written by Jimmy Van Heusen – a great jazz writer!
I had three performances shot in different parts of the grounds of Waddesdon Manor. The first was the most rock and roll – I was on the portico above the the main entrance to the Manor, Brian May-style! The others were shot in front of the Manor from different locations, and it was great. I think the playing came out well too, so I’m really pleased about that!
I’ll be playing at the Manor on the Sunday – two sets. It’ll be great to see you down there. You can expect a mix of Blues, Jazz and Folk. Should be interesting! Check the photos out! I’ll post the video when it’s done.
Last night I went to the O2 Arena in London to see Roger Waters perform the Wall. Around the time I booked the tickets (possibly a year ago!), I had heard that David Gilmour would be guesting with Roger on one of the nights. I was skeptical about this, since I’d heard various different stories about the indifference to putting Pink Floyd back together, and also a difficult relationship between the members of the band. However I went to the gig hopeful this may happen, but very quickly forgot about it when the concert started.
It was fantastic – kicking off with a big bang of red lights and pyrotechnics, shortly followed by an aeroplane flying into part of the wall that would gradually be built and completed over the course of the first half of the show! Amazing.
To my shame I wasn’t familiar with the material from the Wall from cover to cover, so there were only one or two tunes that I recognised (and thoroughly loved!), but I was entertained throughout by a fantastic stage show, and I really enjoyed all of the music that was new to me too. It must be said that Roger put on a superb show, and it was really refreshing to hear “Roger is happy for you to take photos, but please make sure the flash is switched off”.
I filmed a couple of the tunes that I knew, firstly Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, and then Comfortably Numb. At this point, the construction of the Wall was complete, with the band playing behind it! Roger was singing the first part of the verse and patrolling the area of stage in front of the wall, and then suddenly, a subtle, but beautiful voice could be heard emanating from an intense shaft of light from the top of the wall. The crowd went nuts. It was him! David!
I had managed to book tickets one row from the back of the tallest part of the Arena, but I was fairly central. Knowing this I took my binoculars and just watched Mr. Gilmour sing and play through them, open-mouthed. He was playing his black Fender Stratocaster with the maple neck – like his signature model that recently came out. On the video you can just see bright light where David is, but with my binoculars I could see him clearly playing his guitar and singing.
Here is the video. I’m very pleased with it – the sound is fantastic! You can also get a sense of the scale of the venue, and importantly, the wall itself. You can also get an idea of how they used it – the video projections were staggering, even from where I was.
Tonight will see the first performance of Seussical the Musical at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham, Bucks. I’m really excited about it because the music in it pretty varied in style, but I’m also covering two guitar parts. It’s really challenging, but great fun.
The show has rock, funk, latin, and blues genres in it, and a handful of lovely ballads too. I have to play electric and acoustic guitar as well as banjo which is a real treat!
There’s a great deal of uptempo stuff in the music – your counting has to be spot on especially because the time signatures change around quite a lot.
Managing both guitar parts isn’t too difficult either – I’ve marked both pads up where I need to swap from one to the other, and any instrument changes as required. I do find myself playing parts from both pads in a single tune, and some changeovers are as short as a couple of bars, but it’s great fun and I wouldn’t want to do it differently.
Gear-wise I’m using my trusty Ibanez RG3120 for the electric stuff. It’s a really versatile humbucker-driven guitar, and I can get some really sweet out of phase single coil tones out of it too. This is plugged into my pedal board, and out into my Blues Junior which does a great job in these settings. My acoustic is the Martin OMC16Aura which sounds lush through my AER Compact 60 acoustic amp – the mic algorithms sound fantastic. I’m also putting my banjo through the AER since I fitted a K&K Banjo Twin transducer pickup to the head. This sounds really good – beyond all my expectations. The banjo is also holding up well in the pit – it’s a Deering Goodtime Special and I’ve tuned it to G D G B E which means my chord shapes on the top four strings are the same as the guitar stuff. I feel a bit ashamed doing it as I’d love to same I can play it as it’s meant to be played, but alas! needs must. It’s doing the job and sounding great.
I’ve just boarded a tube train leaving Victoria Station in Central London having just had the best seat in the house at Wicked The Musical in London. I was in the pit, between Keys 1 and the Guitar player!
It was fantastic. I got to watch one of the top players in London play the part for one of the most exciting shows out at the moment, and it was fascinating. It was really interesting to see how he interpreted the music, and added his own style to the part.
It’s quite a complicated pad – lots of Ebow and ‘seek-wah’ which really help give the magical vibe of the show, and many changes to acoustic and back to electric.
The acoustic guitar parts require some explanation because there isn’t a real acoustic guitar being used! Instead it’s a Line6 Variax, and it’s necessary because it has banjo, jumbo acoustic, and 12-string acoustic sounds available whenever they’re required. It’s an important choice instrument-wise because without it there wouldn’t be enough room for all of the other acoustic instruments that are required – it’s really cramped down there!
This was the second time I’ve had the privilege of sitting in through the show and it was just as fascinating as the first. I really enjoy the music of Wicked, there are passages of real tension, lush heavily distorted lead and rhythm sections, as well as really sensitive acoustic and clean parts. The addition of the Ebow makes for a slightly more complicated experience – you have to be really on the ball to get in position, but also be accurate when sliding up and down one string.
This is the sort of gig I’m working towards. I have been working hard on my reading and putting myself into challenging environments to give me a better chance of hitting these West End heights. I think it’s going well, and I have another show in a couple of weeks which is testing my own banjo playing, only this time it’s a real one! I’ll be playing in Seussical at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham on 21/4 and 23/4 – come down!
Another band I’ve recently started working with is The Red Hot House Band. Based around Milton Keynes, the band is perfectly geared to keeping the party going all night long! There’s an emphasis on fluidity, and nothing is fixed, so if a song is working we may keep the chorus going, or add a solo in, or drop down in feel and build to a climax. It keeps us on our toes, and keeps audiences grooving!
Recently we’ve been having some promo video and photo shoots. The above photo is one of the new promo shots. Check out the video below for some more as well as audio of the band!
last Friday I went to the New Theatre in Oxford to see one of my favourite artists. Ray Lamontagne was playing with his band, the Pariah dogs. This is the third time I’ve seen Ray and the band, and each time I’ve been impressed.
The performances are always sensitive – Ray’s a gentle, quiet chap – and even despite some encouragement to engage with the audience a bit more, he got on with his job and played his music in a fairly no-nonsense manner.
He was fantastic – his voice was so pure and rich-sounding it was hard to believe you weren’t listening to a recording. The rest of the band were great too. The main reason I like going to see Ray is that you get a demonstration of really tasteful musicianship. Everything has a place – it’s not busy, but very considered. The pedal-steel playing in particular sounds beautiful.
Ray’s best known song is called ‘Trouble’ where he soars in the chorus unlike in any other tune I’ve heard. It’s also been covered quite a lot, often in shows like American Idol. His other tunes are just as good, though. ‘Jolene’ is a tender song about love lost and fighting drug addiction, and there are many other tales Ray tells, that are just off the beaten track.
If you’re not familiar with him, check him out. You won’t be disappointed.
Today was quite an exciting day. I received the mixed versions of some recordings that I’d done with one of the function bands I work with. The band is called Floorfillers, and we play quite a few contemporary tunes, as well as Disco and Motown classics. For your delectation I’ve uploaded one of the tunes we did – Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’. You can listen to it on my homepage, or here.
The recording process of this was quite interesting, since the drums were recorded in one take(!) in a studio in Milton Keynes, and then bass, keys and my guitar were recorded by their respective players in their own homes. After a few emails it all came together back in Milton Keynes where the vocals and BVs were laid down before mixing.
If you need a band for your party, look no further than Floorfillers!
I thought I’d take a little moment to mention one of the singers I have the privilege of working with. Pritee Hurnam is the female singer in Funkify, one of the main function bands I work in. There isn’t anyone else I’ve worked with who is as good as Pritee at getting a group of people to have a good time! I’ve seen static, near empty rooms transformed to heaving discos, and it’s all thanks to Pritee. She has a great knack of involving people in her performance, serenading a gent with ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’, encouraging them to sing ‘9 to 5’, and also copy dance moves to ‘Blame It On The Boogie’. But that’s all the practical stuff involved in being in a party band.
Not only can do she do all that better than anyone else I’ve come across, she’s also a blinding singer. She’s a true pro – I’ve seen the show go on despite her feeling really ill and flu-ed out, and she’s still done a great job! She’s one of the most consistent musicians I know, and directs her band with ease, and a thoughtfulness that shows her mind’s always on the ball. Further evidence of this is proven when she alters a set at a moments notice, depending on the mood of her audience.
She works really hard for the band, and is a cracking musician and performer. I hope you get the chance to see her to her thing soon!
