If you build it, they will come...

Did you miss me while I was away? Did you hang my picture on your wall?
Ok, probably not the best lyrics to resurrect the Blog with, but, hey! the '70's were good to me.

So, here's what I 've been up to: Became a Promoter, played my first proper Solo show in 8 years and sang on stage with Mr Jim Boggia.

Last Tuesday night, I put on an evening of Food and Music at the King Eddie in Stratford. I had always thought that the upstairs room at the "Eddie" was the perfect space for this kind of event ever since I played an open mic night there back in January. It just so happened that my stateside chum, Jim Boggia, was embarking on a tour of Europe and looking for "House Concert" style gigs. So, in a huge "let's put aside all this low self esteem and lack of confidence, Son" moment, I mailed him and told him of my thoughts on the King Eddie. "Go for it" came the reply. I then set about pulling together the arrangements for the evening: who would want to go? would they show up? would Jim and I be eating Gourmet food for the rest of the fall? would I choke? should I fake my Orgasms? Did I say that last one out loud? Sorry...

Well, in truth, the night was a fantastic success, with 29 heads chowing down for the dinner and a further 20 odd folks coming along for the music. From the moment I started my set, it just felt right and all those nerves and worries melted away. Here I was, in front of 50 plus folks, singing a bunch of songs which had taken me a lifetime and one year to write and finally realising that its' only gonna happen if you make it happen. It's hard to describe the rest of the night really, as I just closed my eyes and lost myself in what I can only describe as "the moment I 've been waiting for all my life". Without sounding like a born again christian ("No' I'm Brian!"), it was probably the most spiritual moment I have ever encountered. Before I knew it, I was duetting with Jim on The Faces "ooh la la"(a song I used to sing to my son as a nursery rhyme) and actually dedicating it to my Son who was in the audience. No.1 Son is a massive Jim Boggia fan and, for the rest of my days, I will remember his face lighting up as he watched Jim singing with his dad.

As the evening progressed, my friend Jim absolutely blew the crowd away with his set and took the night home with great style and aplomb. Everybody left with a smile on their face and maybe a Boggia cd or two in their pocket, as well. And, as for me, well, let's just say that for the first time ever, I didn't feel out of place on the bill.

It's good to be back...

"Go Ahead Caller, I'm Listening"

Now that I'm back on the live circuit, (okay I know I'm only one gig to the good, but, I need all the bolstering I can get) I am reminded of that regular occurrence in the live musician's calendar - The Gig Day Ritual. When I played in the covers band, this consisted of making sure that I had every lead, connector, fuse and screwdriver known to man. We always supplied the PA at our gigs, as, 9 times out of 10, the venue was a pub. You see, most publicans have very little in the way of a musical ear and are only interested in how many punters you can drag along to their sticky carpet emporiums. Oh, how we used to chortle during a sound check when said landlord would shout "Three, Four" after each of our "Testing One, Two's". I once shouted "Testing, One plus Two" and still the reply was a hearty "Three, Four". Contrary to what those THX people on every sodding DVD would have you believe, the audience is not listening.

The Solo acoustic gig is different. The PA is usually provided and the only two essential items I need to remember are; my Guitar and, Me. It's sort of like the Musician's equivalent of "Wash and Go". Goodbye set lists - Hello spontaneity! I'm heading out for another slot at the open mic tomorrow night and I have no idea what I'm going to play, and, more to the point, I don't want to know. That's not to say that I'm not nervous. I am, but, it's a " I can't wait to get up there" nervousness and, that, for me, is nothing short of a miracle. Unfortunately, for my old sparring partner, it's also the sound of someone shouting "Taxi for Mr Low Self Esteem".