... no really, I do ;)
Well I'm going to tell...
Christmas break was luscious, richly luxurious in body and mind. Thailand was a ray of light. Heat, sun, culture, beach, good food and reading books for two weeks (The Magus by John Fowles blew my mind). Coming back to England was a shock - warm and t-shirted off the flight...immigration...customs... baggage...step out into the car park and SMACK, freezing, shivering cold...Bosh, welcome back to Blighty :)
New Years eve was jet lag, cheese, champagne and bed ashamedly and willingly early.
The year has been a flyer so far. I decided to pledge myself to the old school again and got out all my old cd's and a piece of hi fi equipment called a cd player. It is inspiring, listening to whole albums all the way through. Inspiring, that is, when they're good.
It's already Februaury. In January I played, by luck and planning, a run of great gigs and have started the year by adapting to my new songs in a live setting, it feels right.
Yesterday and the day before I played in the snow. White blankets and snowballs. London turned itself off for a day. It felt like a day off school or something guiltily fulfilling.
Drama Queen and Superbug is coming to Itunes soon, I did that last week.
So feast on The Queen and The Bug, indulge glutinously in a slice of pop/rock/funk and then get ready for Mad Masters and it's band of introspective, moody companions.
I have been writing again, not with a guitar, with a pen and ink. Ink on paper. It brings a sense of meditation and fulfillment.
The Time Traveller's Wife was also a great adventure. Right now I'm ploughing slowly through The Name Of The Rose... I can only manage about two pages every five or ten minutes without having to re-read and digest the words and sentences, images and history.
Yesterday I was mixing, editing Mad Masters and other stuff. Sonic arrangement, recording. After five months of fighting and complaining and wrong orders and delivery I received the soundproofing for my studio/bedroom (I'm not sure what it is really, but it's definitely a room). I put that up on the weekend and it all fell off. I had used velcro fixing. So i'm going to stick it up permanently now. It's made a welcome and long overdue difference already.
This weekend the Six Nations starts, the Six Nations goes perfectly with a point of Guiness, so I'm looking forward to this weekend.
How are you? How do you feel? What does 2009 mean for you? How are we doing?
When I came home after the gig on Friday this is what I found in my left pocket (the one assigned to looking after any money raised for charity):
Thirty two English Pounds, 0.20 Euros, a plectrum and some other stuff...
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A massive thank you goes to all of you who contributed via coming to the gig and also donating into the charity pint glass.
This 32 pounds and 12 pence that we raised (and maybe the 20 cent euro piece if they'll accept it) will now go to the mighty worthy cause that is the Classic FM Music Makers Charity via my friend Armin's Charity fund raising trek across the Sahara.
http://www.classicfm.co.uk/article.asp?id=235033
http://www.justgiving.com/sahara2009
Peace,
K
