Wednesday 12th November 2008

This is Theo, from the Hungry Caterpillar, singing his new anthemic rock song - 'You're a Useful Guy Now' - I heard it just this once and it's stuck in my head completely - the chorus is a killer.

Seems that whenever I get back into practising the guitar (as in studying in an organised manner, not just noodling around), then I seem to sepnd more time than usual with people playing guitars. It's as if when I've got guitars on the brain, I gravitate towards people or opportunities to play the guitar.

Today I was off work, and after a hearty lunch with Tom, Jon the soundman, and Si, and then some downtime with Theo and Clem, I went and spent the evening playing guitar and hanging out with Milo the contrary cat.......

  Meow, meow, meow, meow - silence....

Tuesday 11th November 2008

Tonight we played with Don Caballero, as part of our monthly residency at the Brudenell. There were only us and them on, and they cleared the stage after sound check so that we could have all the space. We played a fifty minute support slot, with two drumkits, full electronics, vocals and everything. Lovely stuff.

The pic below shows Simon, who I haven't hung out with for about nine years, since before the sixth form. He came through from Newcastle, watched the show and then stayed over. We sat up and watched DIG, a documentary tracing the diverging paths of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols - awesome film, terrible soundtrack......

When Simon picked up my guitar and started to play, it was like a doorway through time. The nuances of his technique and his choice of chords and melodies brought long forgotten moemories of my schooldays bubbling to the surface almost instantaneously, back to when Si and I used to jam at his yard in Belmont after school, we used to play one or two Greenday covers, some original compositions, and the theme tune to Reservoir Dogs......

Che - not a psycho afterall.....

Monday 10th November 2008

The golden combo: Footprinting in the day, followed by Vessels rehearsal in the evening, with barely a pause for breath (or food) between.

Then tonight, after sitting with Clem and learning about the history of Trinidad, and the search for Eldorado, I stook this sheet music to my wall, clumsily presuming that by drawing on it in orange highlighter and then putting it up on the net it would make me learn it faster (or more importantly, learn it at all without giving up halfway through). Then I played guitar for ages, learning more of the aforementioned. Score

 Must sleep now.

  And - B deh be dum a gehbuh  buh deh be gubahah deh

Sunday 9th November 2008

Further meetings at horrendous o'clock today have harrassed my tired frame, as well as generally achieving a lot and in some cases changing the lives of groups of people by further empowering them to exist and co-exist according to their own agendas....

Then, once home from Nottingham thanks to Shizzer's Terminatoresque driving, to Martin's yard, to celebrate his birthday. I gave him a Kirk Hammett guitar instructional DVD. I bet nobody else got him anything as cool.

  Press down here, here, and here. and then flick your hair back.....

Saturday 8th November 2008

Today we got up repellently early and drove to Nottingham for the Radical Routes gathering. A nationwide collective of co-operatives, of which Footprint is a member, that meet meets four times a year and exits to provide mutual aid, financially and practically, to each other in our co-operative venues.

After a day of meetings, a jazz band turned  up in the corner of the Sumac centre to entertain us as we wound down. I didn't catch their name, and wasn't immensely distracted by them, except for this gent on the Clarinet, who blew like a total dude....

Also, winding down did not occur.

  Ah Like a Maan with a goood Beeaard...

  Friday 7th November 2008

Today, like yesterday, was mostly a day of study and pottering. I have progressed with Airproofing 2, tidied up, and the Sid came round and hung out, we watched Chopin on DVD, and then he gave me a bit of a piano lesson and just generally played like some kind of classical/rock/boogie/jazz terror beast in the corner. Ace.

The picture shows Jimmy theory, from the Pattern Theory, performimg his solo loop show at the Packhorse. But he was a loop pedal down, as one broke in transit, and he didn't bring the vibraphone. I don't think that he enjoyed it as much as I did. His drumming was flawless...

And the whole Family Theory...