I’m happy to announce the release of Blueburst’s debut single Vanish. Blueburst is the project of sessioneer/songwriter/singer/guitar player Craig Douglas Miller who lives in Atlanta, Georgia and has kindly invited me to contribute with guitars, production, and ideas. Craig was originally the singer in the band The Reach and made two albums under that name, Closer in 1995 and Lift in 2003. This belting, melodic indie guitar-driven track is getting some good reviews from those in the know, haha. You can listen on Bandcamp and read the reviews on the links.

Today was the day we went into Bristol to find the secret to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s bridges (all songwriters need to have a good bridge). We drove down Gloucester Road towards the city and visited Plastic Wax Records where I found some archive classics, both old and new, contemporary as well as sixties and seventies (thanks Dave for the discount). I even found a nineties album (Bang by World Party), not the easiest to find on vinyl, this being a North American limited edition version with a different cover, and according to Discogs, complete with misprints. Who remembers the days of attention to detail?

We walked from there down towards the centre and past Crofters Rights where we will be playing next Thursday. We needed to go to the music store because I had broken one of the pegs on one of my 12-strings when I was putting new strings on it. I also bought a music stand, a reading light, and a colourful guitar lead that I can’t quite figure out if it’s blue or green. They were nice in the shop and they took one of our posters to put on the wall. We walked from there to Rough Trade to hand them a poster, Boydie lost his bearings and we went via Weston-super-Mare. When we got there the poster wall was full. I asked if they had any information about the latest 22-Pistepirkko album, Kind Hearts Have A Run Run (2022), a resounding no. Do I have to go to Finland to find this album in a record store? Or am I faced with buying it online with crazy shipping prices?

From there we went to Wanted Records where I found a hard-to-find record that I’ll make the album of the day tomorrow. I spoke to John and Ian, John (Stapleton) used to be in The Blue Aeroplanes from Bristol – the ex-band toured with them in the US many moons ago. They had another record in the store that I wanted, The Archive would have been so happy, it was Welsh band Blonde on Blonde – Reflections On A Life (1971) on Ember Records, an original copy in great condition, £120. I did see one on Discogs for £70, but still. Also a King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King for £70 for the wall of faces, too much for the pleasure (or pain) of the cover art.

Next, another music store where I bought a DI box and another lead that was a colour I could name and was actually what I was looking for, the other store had been out of stock. In between all this, we went into a store that was a DJ/electronics store to ask them about Olivia’s violin mic signal path, haha. They were very helpful, everyone was today.

We took the bus home, loaded with heavy bags. At the bus station, I used the loo, in the loo bowl, foil from a heroin encounter. On the bus, we sat on the top deck at the front amongst the discarded sandwich packets and general rubbish left behind without a care. Into the night we ran through songs for the tour, wondering what to play.

Music today has been Blueburst for you to investigate.

Music Of The Daze

Up with the late lark to venture out into a grim, cold day with low clouds, rain, and the air of general misery. The trees still bare, the fields without crops, and the only positive, the green fields, kept fresh with incessant rain. The daffodils are showing signs of regret with snowstorms and icy temperatures, wilting, heads lowered toward a bleak Earth.

Today I reached 1000 days on Duolingo (French and Spanish). Has it helped? Yes, of course, it has. Can I discuss the socio-political consequences of the construction of damns in regions across Spain? Probably not, but I probably couldn’t discuss it in English either. You are just trying to improve your conversational skills, grow your vocabulary, understand grammar better and every step helps.

We drove to the storage today in Wells. We had to pick up our lights, some guitar stands and took the chance to review the amount that’s in the storage and figure out how we’ll be able to move it all to Porto. It’s a daunting task but there must be a way, surely. Whilst we were there we took the opportunity to visit the amazing Wells cathedral, not for the first time, but every time it’s inspiring – if you have a liking for buildings, churches, and architecture. We also went to the half-ruined bishop’s palace around the corner and as I had my MOAT T-shirt on and there’s a moat, well, I had to be there. The famous swans that ring the bell were also present, serene, and beautiful. From the net: “The tradition of Swans on the Moat at The Bishop’s Palace in Wells is thought to go back to the 1850s when it is likely that a Bishop’s daughter first taught the swans to ring a bell at the Gatehouse for food”.

I’ve been searching for a collection of paperback books, the Pan Book of Horror Stories edited by publisher Herbert Van Thal for 25 volumes and Clarence Paget for the final five, the series running from 1959-1989. They seem to be expensive on eBay, so I’ll be scouring the secondhand shops on the tour should I have time.

As we drove away from Wells, the rain poured down hard and the clouds were as low as I’d ever seen them. We were trying to listen to Ex:Re on the journey but it wouldn’t load. We arrived back for an earlyish dinner and I had a sesh with NJ Brian at 7.15. After that, it was time for the Seagull to be restrung. The strings were so discoloured, I guess it’s been a while since I needed this guitar in earnest. Now I do, now we must rehearse.

Music today has been Ex:Re with 12 Ensemble (2021). It is the solo project of Daughter’s Elena Tonra and this album is a reimagining of the debut Ex:Re album (2018). Sadly, it’s only available digitally.

Music Of The Daze

I woke up today to a raging snowstorm, giant flakes, wind, and white fields. I thought we’d left it all behind in Minneapolis at Christmas but it seems England is going through some arctic blast that they call ‘The Beast From The East’, I thought that was an Iron Maiden album. No, that’s their third album, The Number Of The Beast (1982), but there is a live DVD, The Beast In The East, which seems to be a DVD with original singer Paul Di’Anno. The Number Of The Beast with new lead singer Bruce Dickinson has sold 20 million copies, one wonders how a band from East London could sell 130 million records with little radio and media coverage – I’m going to have to listen to the album, aren’t I?

At 3 PM today we had a meeting with Michael, Ariel’s doctor. He showed us her innards, the cracks in the cylinder head, and the wear and rust on the thermostat housing. He said, that if he could find the parts he could put her back together in a day, but at this point, he can’t find the parts. The parts we need are a Nissan Vanette 1993 cylinder head and thermostat housing. Any ideas out there? Don’t be shy. It was quite emotional seeing her sitting there, her body full of holes where her heart has been dismantled. If we can find these parts before the end of the tour we could drive her back to Portugal where she belongs, if.

Back to the house where I’m trying to organise the next batch of sessioneer projects, scheduling, budgeting, general planning, and the creative choices we have to make with the material we record. It’s quite a process from where you stay to how much treble on which amp with which guitar and which microphone on which speaker. From the idea running around in your head to the record store opening and your record sitting in the racks waiting to be snapped up by some enthusiastic music lover, it’s 10,000 miles.

I started on the legendary Tak 12-string guitar today, re-attaching the battery compartment and restringing it. The strings on there looked like they had come from a Victorian soot factory. I broke one of the pegs in the bridge during the process of stringing so I hope I can find a replacement somewhere, and I hope the broken one won’t be a problem to remove.

I’ve been getting some requests for songs, it’s surprising how many of them we don’t usually play, haha. I wonder if it’s because there are just so many songs to choose from but also there are a lot of different kinds of projects and I suppose different people like different things. Keep the requests coming and we’ll see what we can do, you should probably say where you are from and if you are coming to a show.

Music today has been the heavy metal scream of Iron Maiden’s The Number Of The Beast (1982).

Music Of The Daze

The golden rule of travelling is to sleep in the next day. If you wake up, don’t get up, only get up when you find yourself contemplating the images of the beasts in the wallpaper pattern, only get up when your mind is completely engaged in the waking hours, your head buzzing with all the things you have to do. Essentially, you have to pace yourself, do something exhausting, then rest, take every opportunity to get things done and take every opportunity to relax. You can’t keep at it 24/7 and you can’t sit around waiting. Isn’t balance the simple answer to everything?

Outside in the fields, the muck spreader was out, enriching the soil before the crops are planted. I remember this from when I was a child, living in the countryside between Glossop and Marple Bridge. I suppose it’s a sign of spring along with the daffodils that have come to life in the garden. Boydie was off to see Plymouth Argyle play Derby (2-1), leaving at 3 o’clock, two hours’ drive south from here but before he left we hit the psychedelic psupermarket for some supplies. The sun was high in a blue sky and you could feel a wave of warmth through the cold fingers holding on at the end of the winter. Inside the winter was real, it was freezing, I was glad of layers, a scarf and a big coat, I really don’t know how all the old age pensioners were dealing with it. A man came in in shorts and T-shirt, I told him he was going to freeze to death as he passed me, a few moments later he passed me again and said, “I forgot what I came in for”, the cold was doing its work.

We returned to the house driving past the alpaca farm, all red fur contrasting white curls and strangely-shaped heads gathered together on one side of the field. Trevor was soon gone and we set about looking at the records and T-shirts that had arrived from the US for the tour. Next, I was pulling out my guitar from the case to hear the battery rattling around on the inside, it always happens after a flight. It’s not easy to access these old Takamine 12-string models through the strings and you just hope that the wires haven’t come off.

I have lyrics to learn and I have been asking people what songs they want to hear. My plan is to rehearse at Boydie’s, see what comes out, see what’s possible to play and which lyrics I can remember, haha, there’s always the lyric book on stage at acoustic shows, from Dylan to Lucinda Williams. I don’t really need it but sometimes there’s a mental block and you forget the words to the chorus of Smoke On The Water.

Music today has been Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets – Live At The Roundhouse (2020). They have just been announced as the headliner on the Friday night at this year’s Night Of The Prog festival at Loreley, Germany, which Olivia hosts. It is their second appearance at the festival. You can compare the 2019 and the 2022 setlists.

Music Of The Daze

We left London today with too many bags, too many guitars, too many violins, too many records, too many CDs and too many computers, thankfully Biggles drove us to Wimbledon Park where there’s a lift and easier access to the underground. From there the train goes straight to Paddington where we would catch a train to Bristol Parkway to meet Boydie – from his house and with him we would start our UK tour.

I got up earlyish (for me) and went on a wild goose chase looking for tape so I could tape two guitars together as one piece to carry with my limited hands. I had Olivia’s boots with me which I was taking to the friendly cobbler which I dropped off before I walked across the road to the shop where the tape was definitely going to be, nope. The man in there directed me to a place up the road, left, next row of shops on the right, a bit too far considering today’s trip schedule. I got there, it was padlocked. I walked all the way back to find a hardware store at the end of Biggles and Colleen’s road that had exactly what I needed, a short role of trusty gaffa tape, a travelling musician’s best friend.

Getting through the tube system with a lot of bags can be a nightmare but we found a no-hassle route with no stairs. We stood at the top of the escalator at Paddington ready to go to our platform when they announced it. I went off to a shop while Olivia guarded the bags. In the time I was away, Jay Aston from Gene Loves Jezebel strolled by, neither of them quite sure who each other was having only met once, confirming by Messenger that they were who each other thought they were, classic. He’s playing at Chapter 22 – Roots and Records in Bath on Saturday, March 11th, go see him.

The 14.18 train to Cardiff was quick, just an hour and not so bad on the wallet, £70 for two and considering other options, like hire car, Ubers and alternative routes, and considering luggage and the space in Biggles’ car and the train with that extra 12-string guitar from Noel, it all went swimmingly well. A man across the aisle was working on the crossword, and another man working on a sandwich but it wasn’t very busy, this was the best time to travel. Boydie picked us up and everything fitted and we drove to his house where Trish met us and cooked us a great dinner, we have great friends in the world.

Now we are here, in one place, we can rehearse, and your song suggestions are most welcome, we’ll see what we can do. It’s also interesting to see what “the people want”, see if we agree, and see if odd choices are possible.

Music today has been Music for Airports (1978) by Brian Eno. He never did do Music for Train Stations.

Music Of The Daze