Remembering you today, Dad.

News from the f-Word

Many thanks to Cazz Blase at the f-Word for posting this about the Hyde gig:
http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2012/02/music_paste_up_8

Fruity Storylet

As a little child, Offsprog One could not say 'helicopter': she called them 'heliclo'.
Sh did, however, hugely enjoy eating apricopters.

Art and Rocketts

Our gig in Gateshead was lovely: the Shipley Art Gallery is a big airy space, and watched over benignly by paintings, Pauline Murray played a short but sweet set of self-composed songs. She has become much more confident since last year's February gig with Gina and Viv and it was a pleasure to hear her play again. Her whole family had turned up to hear her play: that's her partner Rob (bass player with Penetration), Martin and Pauline over there on the left.
I borrowed Martin's Telecaster to play (the Martin acoustic is playing up and won't give me nice clear bass notes to play although it's going to Brian's shop to get fixed up tomorrow) and felt quite rocky at times; Martin and Fin McCardle joined me for a couple of songs and after a short break Martin played his set which included one of my favourites of his, Nairn Beach. He had his Line 6 radio-controlled DI and wandered round the gallery playing; it was very funny, especially when he caught a punter dozing over his beer and serenaded the poor unsuspecting guy until he woke up with a start! It was an amazing venue to play, everything about it was special. It even has old-fashioned Victorian locks on the doors and the staff were sweet and smiley, the sound was perfectly clear, Shippy the promoter was in very good spirits and it couldn't have been better.

This afternoon, we went to Colin's studio-in-his-garage in Darlington and recorded a couple of tracks with Stephenson's Rocketts. It was great to see the guys again, and with Colin's help we recorded a couple of rockin' tracks, Sugar Hill and Sweet Sally, with Joe Guillan's scorching guitar, John Cavener's steady bass, Martin's energetic rhythm guitar and Keith Shepherd's skittering drums, with Colin at the controls (that's him on the left). He is the lead singer with the Sureshots (Joe's band) and his partner Mandy is a double bass player. What a brilliant band to play with; it's so exciting when we all get going: learn the song, run it a couple of times then record it. We have not all been together in the same room since the Loch Lomond gig in the summer, and we just need Young Johnny's sax and then the songs will be finished.
Spontanaiety, the spice of life!

Details about Shipley Art Gallery Gig from...

... http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/shipley/

Smiles

Shouts to Reni's Cafe on Barnet High Street. What a lovely place to sit and chat over a coffee and a sandwich on a snowy day, with smiling staff and home-made food. Long may they prosper! And at the other end of the street, All Aboard, with the singing sales assistant who gave me a toy helicopter to take home with my 1960s cardi!

Shipley Art Gallery

Saturday... Martin and myself have a gig at the Shipley Art Gallery, with a short guest spot from Pauline Murray and percussion from Fin McCardle.
Be there and be a Geordie!

Regrets

You know. Last Tuesday, Grayson Perry came to the University of the East, my all-time favourite contemporary artist. I remember the moment of bliss I felt as I walked around the Turner exhibition, and I remember floating on air back home with a big smile on my face.
Alas, I had a seminar scheduled for the very time that he was talking and I spent the afternoon helping students with their CVs. It was so busy iI didn't even have time to imagine myself into the lecture hall.
My Office Pal went and said it was fantastic- she even had a front row seat.
I have, however, managed to get a ticket to the British Museum show and I am looking forward to that with bated breath.

Long Day

What a. Time stretched, patience stretched. Half an hour added on to everything at both ends. Fantastic speaker came to talk to students; new students appeared from mystery origins. Students hated me and I loved them back to spite them. Martin cheered me up: gigging together on Saturday in Gatesheed, recording a bit on Sunday with Joe Guillan, John Cavener, Little Johnny and Keith Shepherd.
Cup of tea steaming away, early night, welcome tomorrow in spite of freezing slush!

Great Aunt Ina Plays Banjo in Glasgow

Weird

The coughsneeze combo: several of these acoustic phenomena today: most peculiar.

Big Up Ben Wilson

http://londonist.com/2012/01/benwilso.php

Ben has an 'exhibition' on the streets of Docklands!
I had wondered what he was up to. This is the tiny painting that he did for the cover of Suburban Pastoral.
I didn't realise that no-one would twig how tiny it actually is. It's one of the few left in Barnet where the nasty council ripped up the paving stones after taking him to court. They are absolute philistines.
You can still just about see this by the side of the Old Magistrate's Court on the corner of Normandy Avenue. It has been scuffed by feet but that's sort of the point, according to Ben.
He painted it there because that's where he thought I lived, but I actually lived in Bedford Avenue (though I don't any more) and that's where I wrote all the songs on the album.
Local musician makes local songs and asks local artist to paint picture for cover!
When I listened to them, I heard the songs of a very unhappy and unloved middle aged suburban housewife. And that was me!
Not any more.
Still middle aged though.

Sandie's Film of Mr and Mrs Songsmith

Sandie filmed this at the Camden Eye- thank you! This song is going to be on The Cafe of Tiny Kindnesses along with two instrumentals, and songs by Martin and myself:

Beachwalk (instrumental)
The Cafe of Tiny Kindnesses
Steal You Away
You and Me Time
Samba Blue (instrumental)
All Systems Go!
Mandy Rose
Gaudi's Garden
Sunny and Blue

It's going to be a digipack for private sale only, at gigs and off Martin's mailing list and mine: email me if you would like me to keep you a copy helen_mccookerybook@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjUf_O75lhU

Something To Do In Hove Tomorrow

My friend Kim has been involved in organising this: what a perfect antidote to snowiness and dark skies!
Put on your wellies and gardening gloves and your trousers with inbuilt kneeling pads... or even your sparkling evening wear... think of the spring and the summer; plan for lots of Sunday lunches with your own home-grown vegetables and herbs, flowers for your mothers and your lovers or even just for you.
Alas, I shall be sitting here writing humungously long and intricate lectures. But I do have a little box of tropaeolum that will go into the soil as soon as it's thawed, and some snowdrops just about to emerge, next to a pot of dwarf irises, Katharine Hodgkin ones.
And I will be imagining the green fingered folk of Brighton and Hove pottering around the stalls with steaming mugs of coffee talking nerdy seed-speak (not the same as seedy nerd-speak, I assure you), just as they are imagining future warm days in abundant gardens and allotments......