Waffle from Kamakura: the UK indie band.

Sincerity Machine is next for videoization (or whatever)

2010-07-31T21:48:00.001Z

We've decided that all the songs on 'Dealing With Liquids' will eventually have videos made for them. Some will be purely performance driven whilst others, like 'Spring of Teal', will be more.

The next one is going to be 'Sincerity Machine.' The lyrics tell a story, and the story will become a video ... which is often easier said than done, I should bleedin' well cocoa (whatever that means).

So, here's the lowdown. Mick is going to be the aged east end crook. Hahahahahahahaha! ;) ~~for some reason Nick coughs uncontrollably.~~

Umm, more to follow as the project kicks off. In fact, I'll do my best to keep a detailed blog of the production.

Video for 'A Spring of Teal' finished!

2010-07-10T02:24:00.000Z

We shot a video, cut it, liked it for a brief moment or two - probably because it was our first effort and we were excited - then decided it was pants. And it was (is, but it won't see the light of day)!

So we shot part of another one which was good - including the amazing sculptural look of massive wind turbines and a trio of me!

But it was only the first half of the video. So we shot the rest of it on the beach and that was good, too. The thing is we are a three piece and I was the only bod in it ... which is not good for a first 'band' video.

So we all went back to the beach on a sunny sunny day and had fun. Now we were cooking! And after a few hours editing said video was complete.

Check it out! A Spring of Teal - video

Dealing With Liquids - a critique

2010-03-24T20:05:00.000Z

The album isn't being officially released until the 1st June, which is to give us time to get a response from the industry and those within. Needless to say we've sent a few copies off to those we consider friends, and one of them, Kapitano, a fine singer songwriter, has written a detailed critique.

It's well worth a read, and he has included some interesting archive footage of our first festival gig in 2005.

It's all too much - or - I need a brain

2010-02-25T02:11:00.000Z

'scuse the stressed verbose typed (and probably misspelt) mental disgorgement hereafter.

I am one. One. and not a very conscientious one either. I keep making awful decisions: like blogging - or rather multiple blogging. One blog I could cope with. Two, maybe. But I have three on blogger, two on sites I belong to, and another two for the band. I say 'the band', but as the band was originally just me I guess they're mine too. Definitely, as nobody else seems interested in taking them over. And the thing about blogs is that they contain personal writing. Not, I'm sure, that in the grand scheme of things the writing is in the slightest bit worthy. But it's mine, and some of it is mildly amusing. To me at any rate.

So what on earth do I do with them all? Merging them would seem ideal, but there's another problem rears its ugly head: personas. I'm me here, but in two of them I write under a different name. So who am I? And who cares?

----
Web Sites! I was told the other day that the Kamakura site was old fashioned and needed sorting. what type of sorting it needed wasn't forthcoming. Slag me off if you want to, but at least give me some idea of why. old fashioned just doesn't cut it. What does it mean? The site didn't have a tweed background, and there wasn't even a hint of an aspidistra anywhere in sight.

So I've put up a temporary site instead. From it you can visit one of the many blogs, buy the album, and contact us. One day - sooner rather than much later - there will be a proper site in its place. One day. Then I have another couple of sites to update, too.

----
After the artwork problems were sorted out earlier today the album - Dealing With Liquids - is being replicated. Probably as I type. I can't wait, and though I know the material too well to want to listen to it again I am drooling to slip a real honest to goodness replicated CD into the player. There could well be other bodily fluids involved too! ;)

----
I'm away to slip under the duvet and fly off to dreamland. Night y'all.

Struggle

2010-02-03T18:03:00.001Z

It's a bloody struggle, that's what it is at the moment. Too much to do and neither the hours in the day nor the drive to get it all done. Frankly, I don't know what's come over me (no lewd jokes please). I seem to have drifted off into a headspace that is ruled by 'Meh'. I used to be full of get up and go but it's leached away into a mental subsoil ... which is crazy!

All the excuses under the sun can't detract from the fact that we now have a finished master ready to be replicated and sold. It is what we've always wanted. What we've always dreamed of. Yet no we have it I can't get it together to finished the artwork and send it off.

I've got through all the other stuff you have to do to release a CD. Joined the PPL, got ISRCs for the tracks. Hunted around and got a distribution deal with CDBaby.com. Yet the last step is proving the hardest.

On reflection it's more than likely that I din't want to do it because it'll mean I then have no excuse ... and what happens if it's actually crap? I know it isn't. Actually, I know it's not just good, it's very good. But then what?

So you have a CD .... Then you have to make people aware of it and get them to buy a copy - and that is the process I'm terrified of. I'm not, and never have been, a salesman: it's just not in my nature. We need a manager and we need an agent to get us gigs. NOW!

#Heartfelt sigh#

Ah well, I'm sure it'll all be okay in the end. Or, as Mick says, "It's always darkest before dawn."

Ave all.

'Dealing With Liquids' is mastered!

2010-01-23T22:09:00.002Z

Finally we have a master, and I can honestly say that it's good!

I've been in awe of Pink Floyd ever since I first heard 'Dark Side of the Moon' back in my sister's flat when I was a teen. 'Wish You Were Here' is probably the most influential album I've ever heard. So it was with utter delight that I found www.tubemastering.com. Tube Mastering's Andy Jackson is one of Dave Gilmour's engineers and a bloody brilliant mastering engineer. I know this because we now have an album he's mastered, and it's so much better than any of the mixes we attempted to master. Crystal clarity and fidelity at even the quietest volume.

It's true that if you master yourself it saves money. But I think that it's a false economy, especially if it's your first album. The one niggle I had was that we couldn't attend the session and had to trust he'd be true to the material. But it didn't matter. The result is amazing. Okay, so that's a personal opinion. :)

Now we have to get the artwork finished and the replication dealt with.

Final Push

2009-10-19T00:08:00.000Z

Fingers crossed, this week sees the end to the recording. We've got all the tracks at the 'close to final mix' stage and now it remains to get us all together and tweak them.

Then it's off to the mastering house ... which, no doubt, is going to cause yet another row. Mastering is expensive, but vital. Yet who do you go to? I quite like the sound of 'Streaky'. I don't know him - but he has mastered for Kasabian. Then there's 'Swift'. I don't know them either. It's all bit of a lottery.

The title - at present - is 'Dealing With Liquids.' Don't ask me why, it's Mick's idea - though it's growing on me. The cover is close to done. All except the blurb for the inside. And then there's the question of lyrics. Do people still like to read lyrics?

Then we have to get the IRSC track numbers and find a good place to have the CDs replicated. It's going to be hideously expensive but worth it!

Wave & stuff

2009-09-30T16:50:00.000Z

Google's Wave has kicked off with a limited public trial of 100,000 people who can each invite 5 others to join up. Not that you'll have a lot of success, but if you want to ask for an invitation then click the title link above to apply. It looks like the future of interactive communication and collaboration is finally here! Or so Google say.

'Piece of the Heat' is sounding bloody brilliant, thanks to Mick's hard work and my whining at him when he gets carried away. I think - yes, occasionally I do - that he is going to be a seriously sought after producer once the album is released.

Cheers all,

Nick

Mick's ill. :(

2009-09-24T17:43:00.000Z

Poor Mick. After flogging all the way over to the studio by train and bus I had to drive him home after only an hour. He's running a temperature and had a headache that was verging on migraine. Since he was in London on Tuesday I can only keep my fingers crossed that it isn't bloody swine flu ... and, if it is swine flu, that I haven't got it.

Oh yeah, on the way home I was listening to radio four who were saying that: those in the know reckon that the second phase of the swine flu pandemic has just kicked off. So, that's cheery, then! ;)

Recording News

2009-09-23T15:06:00.000Z

The recording of the album, which, to me had seemed as slow as a fly caught in amber, has, over the last week, sped up incredibly. We now realise that we have some really good tracks, and because of that we have extra super-duper added impetus to get it finished. I know that it's easy for me to say they're good, but in fact, and without hubris, they actually are. Damn good. Fucking good, even. ;)

I'm totally psyched!

A fresh start!

2009-09-18T18:41:00.000Z

So ... it appears that I've neglected this blog for four years. 4 YEARS!!! *Nick looks askance and wonders if he's entirely lost his marbles* I almost can't believe it, but knowing myself and my skittish flibbertigibbet nature, I suppose I'm not too shocked.

The last thing we did in 2005, was play the Pestalozzi Festival, in Sussex. That gig was supposed to be the start of a tour, but it was not to be. At the time we didn't have a manager, or the knowledge of how to push ourselves as an Independent act. We still don't have a manager, but we do now have the knowledge to get cracking!

We've written a lot of new material, and are in the final stages of recording our first album. Though we are still debating its name I can say we are releasing both on physical CD, and digital download through our own label and CD Baby.

Mick is also going to be adding to the blog on a regular basis.

Back in the land of the the hoity toity

2005-07-04T00:54:00.000Z

I've just spent the weekend in Yorkshire, land of my 'roots', celebrating my Aunt's 90th Birthday.
She is remarkable, still as bright as a button and with a memory that puts mine to shame.
The cousins had organised a real family get together with 45 people. They were amazed that the southern contingent (Suki, Ben and I) actually bothered to come, and I was amazed that I recognised so many of them, since I hadn't seen most in 20 years.
Getting to know Ben was great too. Strange to have a nephew who is 29 and you don't really know. Now I do, and thoroughly approve.
To cap it all Suki put me in touch with Mike who I hadn't seen in 10 years. Good stuff.
I feel like the wind has blown Mary Poppins in the window.

A bit of a do

2005-06-28T01:39:00.000Z

I've finally converted the Global Fusion Gig to MP3's. All 11 tracks are now up for aficionado's to peruse... So that would be me then.

Now all I have to do is choose the best song and create a video for it from... erm... a static wide shot. Could be interesting (Why did I ever leave the film industry? Why didn't I start performing 20 years ago? Oh foolish man).

The plan (or so I'm told) is to get an agent to find us gigs. Good idea! Let's give a total stranger 10% because we're all worried about picking up the phone. I must find some balls... Hmm.

My determination for the next year is to play Glastonbury, and Jools Holland. I also want to tour europe. I shall do this.

There's nothing like a positive mental attitude, unless of course you happen to be mental, in which case buy thorazine... I can't find a thorazine shop in the yellow pages.

The cage

2005-06-27T01:34:00.000Z

The cage of life surrounds us all,
From kingly court to shanty town,
The debts we owe no matter what,
Are burdens none the less.

Yet we strive to better live,
The western mind a mortgage bid,
The car, the house, the credit cards:
Whilst children elsewhere starve.

Is it fair? Well no it’s not,
But frankly we all have our lot:
The bills to pay, the boss to please;
Often on bended knee.

Would I change? Would I fuck!
I don’t want to live in old mud huts.
Bulldozed down by tyrant lunes,
In far off sunnier climes

I want to live the life I want,
B&Q paint on prefabbed crap,
Gawking at Big Brothers shite,
A couch potatoes feeble cry!

I’m not happy, I’m not sad,
I’m just pissed off fucking mad,
Lets face facts, if we don’t change now:
We are all of us going to die!

Sooner rather than later.

The beginning is nigh

2005-06-17T11:26:00.000Z

It's whatever time it is, and in ten minutes I am leaving to go to a final rehearsal and then the GIG.

God knows what happens then. Back to reality I suppose. It's meant to be fun... A laugh. Why is it then that I feel like I'm off for a date with Madame Guillotine! Odd that.

Also it's damn hot and I'm sweating, though I'm not sure if it's from the heat or nerves.

Fingers and other bits crossed.

A Band is a damn good thing

2005-06-14T23:40:00.000Z

Today for the first time I played with the complete band, had a small glimpse of what my music could be and ended up one very happy man.
Though I can't honestly say we're ready for this gig (even with a year's rehearsal with a full band I'd probably have reservations) I can say we're going to give it out best and it should blow a few people away.
I still can't quite work out why all these people are doing this. It can't be for the money.
None the less, playing is the ultimate legal high. So glad I can partake.
The only slight downer is that my strumming hand is hurting. Hopefully with some TLC it'll be better by Friday.

Ego's Suck

2005-06-13T01:27:00.000Z

'nuff said.

Another day...

2005-06-10T23:15:00.000Z

Another full rehearsal, with some dreadful blunders, yet all in all 'it' is getting there. Mick fixed his Sound Canvas (dry Joint) and I have decided to use a kazoo rather than Harmonica on 'Train'... Possibly?
One of the festival organisers want me to send a stage plan. Hah! Oh, and they can't find the contract.
I'm getting a stye, which has to be stress... Or nerves... Or possibly terror. And, and it's all for one hours 'something'... Then what?
Tomorrow David joins in. Oh joy.
Bed.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

2005-06-10T00:05:00.000Z

A huge weight off my mind now I've told Grant about the KTwins no go. He, friend that he is, has been totally understanding. I would probably have pouted and moaned a lot.
----------------------
Having now rehearsed every day for the last week I can finally see where it could go, and it's starting to get exciting.
We have a set of eleven songs, which are pretty much the way I want them...
The only problem with intense rehearsal with just a keyboard player, is that when the full band gets together the dynamic is going to change, especially with a drummer (can't wait). On the one hand this is good, but from the POV that we only have the one full 'in studio' rehearsal, and the gig is in a week, it is frightening me a little.
The gig cometh all too soon.
What I am determined to do is carry on afterwards. I love playing live... After the event I can't wait to do it again, it's just the angst leading up to it I hate.
------------------------------
The set list in running order:
Love song
Sincerity machine
Piece of the heat
Train
Gin or Ginseng
Life
Blonde Hair
Sally
Spring of Teal
Superman
Friends of the Earth

White Rabbit

2005-06-07T23:29:00.000Z

No time, No time.
From worrying about no work I'm now panicked because not only is there work, but I have to rehearse as well. Getting home at ten and vegging out to a meal and the tube is not condusive to a happy fufilled life methinks.
I've finally plucked up the courage to tell my twin I can't perform with him. He's going to be mad, but I'm only a bear with a small brain.
The rehearsals are going OK. Some nights are unfortunately better than others. I can't let it be a random roll of the dice, it's just got to get better day on day. The set now seems solid, and works, which is good... Now if I can only remember the lyrics...
My 'piece' in the local rag came out. I've been told I look like 'Donovan'. Pah.
--------------
Three nights ago I hit a Badger on the top road. I stopped and went to look, but it had vanished. I only hope that he/she is ok, though I can't truthfully believe it. Even though I slammed on the brakes I must have been doing 35mph.
I keep thinking I should have done something else. If I'd have swerved and run off the road I would have trashed the car, but it only cost £230, which is less than the vets bills might have been.
Poor Badger.

Too much

2005-05-21T15:06:00.000Z

It's all too much.
I finally get a chance to do something I've been dreaming of doing forever and a day, and I'm terrified... Or am I just stupid? Moot point really. I either do or I don't. If I don't I'll regret it until the day I die and look like a total cunt to boot: If I do I'll probably peg out from the stress. I think it's called Hobson's choice. Fuck Hobson.
Hey ho. Bring on the stress.

Old New Labour Anew - Again

2005-05-06T23:54:00.000Z

Once more into the breech... Though given a fair method of voting (proportional representation) the political landscape would be very different, you can only admire the front that is the chimeric Tony/Gordon beast. All hail the beast I say. Or should it be 'better the beast you know'?
Having voted for the 'nice' party I can't say I expected to be on the winning side, though given the choices on offer with UKIP being the only 'outsider' on offer, nice was the only path to wander. The alternatives I might have gone for such as the 'Official Monster Raving Luny Party' or 'The Green Party weren't on offer. Damn shame that.
I do feel a tad sorry for Michael Howard. Poor. poor chap. Fangs for the memories.
Hey ho.

A New Pope

2005-04-19T23:19:00.000Z

Well there it is. We have a 78 year old Benedict XVI. And will he be a wise and worldy man? Nope (it rhymes). Though I'm sure he is wonderful if you know him personally, and probably blind enough not to question discrepancies in the petty cash, I very much doubt he really knows what goes on in the real world. Certainly if he continues in the conservative mean of John Paul II and carries on forbidding the use of condoms he will be doing the planet no favours.

"Dear brothers and sisters after the great Pope, John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the Lord's vineyard."

Does the Lord really consider Earth a Vineyard I wonder?

Nothing Less Than Everything

2005-04-14T00:13:00.000Z

Nothing Less Than Everything is the next Songfight that I probably won't enter. It's the cyan fight, which is apt seeing as how useful a vial of cyanic acid could be. Too painful, though swift. Were I ever to 'top' off, I would like to do it in a... ummm... pleasant fashion; with tweating birds, flowers and nymphs in attendance, not frothing at the mouth in extreme pain.
Damn the fightmaster. If it were the magenta fight the above twaddle wouldn't exist. Instead I could waffle on about camp things like dresses and mincing and angst.

So anyway; I've written a nice song about love. and though the lyrics aren't finished, and it's raw, check it out... Go on. You know you want to. ;-)

Reality - A sharp slap in the face.

2005-04-13T19:24:00.000Z

I watched an episode of CSI last night. The Miami version with Horatio (who is Cat's hero). The plot involved a woman who was poisoned with a radioactive isotope in her orange juice and suddenly found she only had five days to live.
It made me think. If I was told I had five days what would I do? The short answer, after an all to brief panic attack, would be record an album... A month to live? The same, but abroad in the sun. A year to live? The same... Etc.
It made me realise music is what I want to 'do', to leave behind. Maybe some poetry too, and possibly a novel if I get lucky. I don't want to shuffle of this planet leaving nothing behind except a bitter ghost, moanng at having been 'a good boy', up to date with mortgage and taxes.
Then I realised I am finite. Each day that rolls by with nothing accomplished except a few invoicable hours is a FUCKING WASTE. Each of these days is sand that will never run though the glass again.
I know all this, yet why am I seemingly incapable of doing anything about it?
A cheery point to ponder.

Well Hi there!

2005-04-10T13:51:00.000Z

And the days shoot by with the turning of the sky...
No songfight entry this week, or last week either, though I did both write for, and record 'Digital Chimera' and 'Ancient'. These can be found (aficionado's only please) here, though beware, they are demo's and not even vaguely polished.
Speaking of which I am supposed to be a web designer and yet have no proper site. This situation, being reminiscent of 'Coals to Newcastle', 'Grandmothers and Eggs, or some such, will be rectified shortly by a fully blown 'thingy' to which I will probably move this blog as well.
I love this free association lark! Having mentioned Grandmothers I must tell you (oh audience of 1) my Grandmother was on TV the other night. BBC 4 had a program about the early days of Television, and my Grandmother, who had a show of her own in the 1950's, was the first featured segment. Hughie Greens 'Double your money was the second. It was very, VERY dated, and stilted. Then it was live.
The sun is out, the birds are singing, and life goes on... And on. Oh to win the lottery!

'tis an odd thing...

2005-03-29T12:16:00.000Z

... but I started this blog to waffle on about music, and it seems to have wandered off course. In light of this, and because I aim to drift back to a strictly musical flavoured blog I shall end this non musical excursion with a eulogy for my log, who died last night.
I had Sidney, my log, ever since I moved into the house. He was given to me by Brigitte and I had intended to use him as the raw material for a sculpture the like of which will now never be known. Every year I managed to save him from the flames of our voracious furnace. Often only by the skin of his bark.
Brigitte though me silly, but Sidney and I had an understanding. He was a loyal log, a good log, and, I like to think, a wisw log. He was always there for me. Last night, in a moment of mutual catharsis, he has been released. He has travelled to the place where all good logs go, and I wish him well.
Goodbye Sidney.

A new Doctor? Yes. A good Doctor? No!

2005-03-27T00:32:00.000Z

I was eagerly anticipating the new Doctor Who, and tonight I was badly disappointed. Perhaps It's more from distorted childhood memory, but I remember Dr Who as being fresher, ballsier and rather cutting edge. This new Who couldn't cut its way out of a paper bag if its life depended on it.
I would like to blame BBC Wales for the parochial feel, but I think in actuality Dr Who has been stuck down by the dreaded English disease. Instead of wobbly sets we were given wobbly shop manequins. A Very sad day for sci-fi.
Grant seems to like it, which I find vaguely unsettling.

sad

2005-03-12T01:25:00.000Z

I read in Grant's blog that Dave Allen died. In the 70's and 80's I used to watch him sitting on his swivel chair (with added shelf for ubiquitous glass of Irish whiskey and packet of fags) getting drunk and telling the most outrageous jokes. The whole family used to watch. His jokes and sketches seemed either political or religious in nature.
Though I imagine he would be tame by modern day standards, I remember him as razor sharp. Whilst his missing finger used to weird me out!
Bye Dave.

Hmm?

2005-03-12T01:13:00.000Z

I'm continuing to learn Zoops, which I think will be a doddle once I get my head around the concepts and decide on a theme. I've got a meeting on tuesday to discuss three static web sites, one of which will end up being a cms at some 'later date'. I have a pitch on monday for another cms which should be a 'shoe in' (wonderful Americanism), though I have a gut feeling it's going to be grief. I have all these positive signs for a rosy future... So why do I feel like the world is going to fall on my head at any minute?

Finally... Again.

2005-03-11T03:57:00.000Z

Quite chuffed really. It's nearly 4am, and I'm going to be having (preens himself) Installed apache server, php and sql on my local machine. Then installed both wordpress and xoops AND got them both working.
A doddle, a mere bagatelle, water off a Duck's back... Not.
Bon nuit, schlaff gut, etc.

She is not amused

2005-03-06T13:27:00.000Z

The Cat I mean.
I let a rather good brunch go cold while playing ' Cat Stacking '. She said it's a spin on the old game of tetris. I said shut up or be stacked.

Click here now!

2005-03-05T00:54:00.000Z

I had a very happy, though probably not entirely pc half hour... And I made 320.5!
btw do crank up the sound.

Meh.

2005-03-01T00:19:00.000Z

Meh is such a good word for how I feel as I type. Blech or 'whatever' would do as well I suppose. I writing this more for the must keep up the blog portion of the brain than from anything profound to say. While I'm here I will say this. I want more snowy mornings... Provided the car starts.
I got an entry in early for songfight this week, then on guidance from Grant changed the drum part. Much better and still in early.
The cats are hellish amusing in the snow. I wish I could speak Cat. It would be a useful string to the bow. As would being an astronaut. Maybe next week.

Whoopity doo

2005-02-22T00:53:00.000Z

I seem to have landed rather a large client (not fat) who wants a web site for his record/agency/management company, along with quicktime and realmedia streaming. He is also interested in a web based radio station.
If he has the money for all this I shall eat my hat (cotton cap rather than bowler).
I shall probably end up doing it for the usual pittance... Still you never know!
To this end I have installed PHP NUKE and am frantically trying to learn enough php jargon to flabberghast with the best.
Fingers crossed.

True

2005-02-18T12:47:00.000Z

Whenever you feel small, useless, offended and depressed, always remember that you were once the fastest and most victorious sperm out of hundreds of millions...
Thanks for the reminder

Weird but oddly attractive

2005-02-17T16:29:00.000Z

I hereby decree that Transgenic Tombstones are the way forward. I plan on setting root in an attractive orchard somewhere in Sussex, my leaves rustling in the wind, my fruit providing succour for epicures that so desire it. Hmm.

Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck!

2005-02-14T00:43:00.000Z

What is it with me and deadlines, and why can't I get it through my dense skull that finishing early would be a pleasant and relaxing experience.
I remember at school it was the same. I'd leave my prep until the last possible second, often staying up half the night to finish. Strange how the excuse 'I'm working on my prep Sir.' never seemed to hold any weight when caught in the library at 4.00am.
I've written a good, nay, a damn good song called 'Hollywood Fantasy.' I can 'hear' how it could be, the production I'd like to throw it's way. Yet what have I done? Watched a shed load of T fucking V, and only started to record it at 11pm. Arse that I am.
Winge over

Somme like it hot

2005-02-07T01:15:00.000Z

Big fun today. I spent a couple of wonderful hours driving a 3.5 tonne mini digger around the field, raising the brambles to the ground. True the field now looks like the Somme in 1918 (without trenches or corpses), but I now have two LARGE piles of shrubbery to be burnt.
In other news I still haven't reviewed the last songfight, and I still haven't finished my tax. Oh for a brain that has its head screwed on.

A tired bunny

2005-02-06T02:28:00.000Z

Not that I would actually qualify as a bunny per se, but I am tired.
It's aroung 2.30am and having got to bed at 6am, dragged from the pit 3 hours later by an over enthusiastic neighbour who had 'a mate delivering 80 tonnes of free scaplings for the track' (when is anything actually free?), I have not been in the best of moods today.
I don't really mind the fact that the track is beginning to look like a small 'A' road, or that I had to spend several hours doing hard manual labour, but the perpetual moaning about the state of my land gets me down. They all want to live in the country, but have the country like a glorified B&Q garden centre. Fuck 'em.
Enough. I'm away to my bed.

pondering green

2005-02-01T21:39:00.000Z

I'm thinking that this 'new' blog template is just too green. I was after something calming, but not too calming. I'm not sure if this is the one.
You see? It's making me write utter bilge, and for no apparent reason.
On another note: My entry for 'When it snows' has already garnered a vote, so I must finally be doing something right. I get the feeling that I'm finding a syle, though the style I'm finding doesn't actually appeal. Odd.
Yesterday my bank manager asked me what I would really like to be doing (bank psychobabble) and without a moments hesitation I said "writing music". Then I had to qualify this by telling him about my musical past. He said "did you play on Eastbourne Pier in 1979?" I replied that I hadn't and he said "Good, it was a terrible gig." It was all rather surreal and a tad confusing.
Now he wants to sell me a mortgage.
If I didn't already live in the country I'd say 'Oh for the peace of the country.'

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes. indeedy.

2005-01-31T02:06:00.000Z

I have done many things since last I journalised:
Firstly I have changed said journal (this 'kin page what you're gawping at) with a different flavour of template. I did this for the sole reason that a change is as good, if not better, than no change at all.
Secondly I have written and recorded an entry for 'When it snowed'. This is my first Song Fight entry of the year. An odd little ditty it is indeed, with most excellent mouth percussion.
Thirdly, and with a hung head, and a pityfully quivering lower lip I must admit to not (that's NOT) getting my tax return finished in time. FUCK.
Still. Never mind eh.

The years roll by

2005-01-18T01:51:00.000Z

Grant's Birthday today. Another friend gets a year older. Why we aren't born old and get younger is a mystery I'll never fathom. It seems such a sensible way to go.
Cat seems jaded. Must be the weather. I hate winter weather in England. If it's winter it should be cold and snowy. It should be a chore to get the car started, scraping the ice of the windows in gloves and scarf. Instead it's just bleak, damp and miserable. All this and more to come courtesy of good old 'Global Warming tm'.
Now back to trying to sort out my tax. Hey ho.

Is it me, or is modern poetry CRAP!

2005-01-14T15:44:00.000Z

I get a lot of email from lists that I've signed up to on the spur of the moment and most of which I bin without reading. The arts list is different. It is full of people asking for, and presumably getting finance for the most 'off the wall' projects. Facinating.
Today I got one from www.poetrylondon.co.uk who are looking for a manager, one day a week. Not that I want the job, but interested in the site non the less I check out the 2004 competition. Not one of the poems stir me, and a lot of them don't seem like poetry at all. I'm left wondering, and slightly bemused.

Aghhhh!

2005-01-10T23:02:00.000Z

The tenth of January... Again.
There it is then.

The trouble with the media

2005-01-06T23:45:00.000Z

The trouble with the media is that the more you get to see of a disaster the more inured you become. I'm suffering from this 21st century affliction to the nth degree. Switch on the radio
"The distaster worsens as..." Switch on the TV and more of the same with pictures.
Tonight the admass are fed the faces of orphaned children.
"This little girl is hoping beyond hope her Grandmother (close up of a tear rolling down childs cheek) is still alive (dramatic pause) otherwise she will become one more of the many, many orphans of Phuket."
Though I'm sure it's been said a bazillion times before Phuket is a really unfortunate name. I've wanted to go there for the longest time, and yet now I'm not really bothered if I ever see the place. The magic that was the far East has in my mind vanished for good. Sad but true.

Happy New Year?

2005-01-02T13:08:00.000Z

I have been 'battered' by television pictures of the Asian Tsunami disaster.
The first couple of days they repeated the 'wave coming in' which was shot from a second floor balcony by a tourist. It showed an idyllic beach scene with the wave coming in over a swimming pool, and a few people running. The casualty figures were estimated to be around 20,000, which is vaguely understandable and horrific.
For the last couple of days they have been repeating aerial shots. These I just can't comprehend. Mile after mile after mile of utter desolation. Looking more like satellite photographs, you can see markings of where villages once were, roads vanish underwater only to reappear in the distance, huge boats far inland...
Casualty figures of over 100,000. It is just devastating, and this from the safety of a living room on the other side of the planet.
We are so insignificant it puts all personal troubles into true perspective.
If I believed in God I would think it is his way of saying "You'd better start bucking up your ideas. Or else".
It makes me ponder the point of it all.

Would you credit it

2004-12-30T01:25:00.000Z

Sunday/monday
So there I was having worked out a few bits for J$'s 'run faster' and let me say the bits were not too shabby either. Infact I was quite chuffed. Decided to go to bed and like a prune just shut the whole damn studio down by switching off at the plug. Tit.
later on monday
Try to start up and nothing. Tried again... Nada.
Tuesday
So I pm J$ and pull out of the collab. He (gentleman that he is) says no problem.
Sulk a bit, or a lot depending on your scale of sulking. Veg out to much too much TV.
Wednesday (yesterday) pm
Try the computer again and bugger me blind it starts up sweet as a nut. Go figure. I'm pondering the idea I might have neglected to plug something in, but I did nothing different today than yeaterday. Odd.
So the upshot is I might be in 'Pawnbrokers Daughter' or not.
--------------
Having written a 'Pawnbrokers Daughter' I now realise the title is 'Pawnbrokers Stepdaughter' Gah. I'm wondering if a pawnbroker would refer to his stepdaughter as 'stepdaughter', or just 'daughter'?
--------------
This awful Tsunami disaster has me pondering the insignificance of humanity. We are nothing in the face of nature unleashed. Perhaps we, and by we I mean the human race, should begin to be more aware of this fact.

I loath the phone (1 day special)

2004-12-21T02:19:00.000Z

I go through patches when I loath the phone, and today was one such patch. I'm sitting down t't tube and the damn thing rings. I don't normally mind as the answerphone picks up after three rings, however I had changed it to seven rings on a whim and damn is the phone LOUD!
Nevertheless I leave it and watch TV.
Later I try and call back my sister and she had the temerity to be out!

Is deep Throat senile?

2004-12-20T02:38:00.000Z

Deep Throat, the 'person' who comes up with the titles at songfight has done it again. Naff would be my word of choice for this weeks titles.
The first was 'Les Anchois' (Muse sighed in a heavily resigned manner). I swiftly eyed title two which was 'Block City'. So the choice was obvious. I hate Anchovies, have never had anything good to say about them. I don't like them in or on food of any variety, and as pets go they suck. Block City didn't stir me either, So no song... Then -
I discovered www.secondlife.com. I would join in a flash, if only my damn pc was up to spec. It seems like a huge leap forward, and fun to boot (I'm not describing what it is, you'll just have to go and check it out for yourselves). Anyhow, to cut a blitheringly boring diatribe short, It took me a while but I finally came up with a lyrical idea, and a tune which works... Too late to record by the deadline however. Sad, but true. Anyway, here are the lyrics for Block City, which I will endevour to record at some point:

What are you going to do with your second life
You’ve got the building blocks to make it right
You could build a town house or an island retreat
A big block city just seems too obscene

Everybody feels the need to try again
Now we have the place to make
A halcyon life that never ends
Everybody wants to transcend the norm
Become the character they dream about
From dusk till dawn

What are you going to do with your second life
Start a shopping mall or an x rated punk rock dive
Become the artist you’ve always wanted to be
Win a songfight? Oh mamma let it be!

After a long sojourn a New Song is in!

2004-12-04T15:02:00.000Z

'Piece of my heat' is in... I submitted under Kamakura before I remembered Ivy was supposed to be doing it. It was, as usual, rushed. I can 'see' where it will go when I get the time to record it properly (with a band) and though the genre is probably not what I'm best at I... Quite like it! Here then are the lyrics:

Piece of my heat

Hey there cutey pie
Wanna see what we can do if we really try
My pants are on fire just for a glimpse of you

I’ll give you everything I’ve never possessed
I’ll give you half of the medicine chest
I’ll love you faithfully at least ‘til the end of the night

So you wanna come and play with me?
Join in with the fantasy
Come along and taste a piece of my heat
Come and come and come with me
We’ll trip the light so fantastique
Down ‘n’ dirty take a piece of the heat

Hey there sleepy head
Wanna see what we can do if we stay in bed
You’ve got me riding, riding the edge of my mind

I’ll pledge my heart if it will make you stay
You’ve got my soul if you can banish the grey
I’ll love you faithfully at least ‘til the end of time

Muse Strikes!

2004-12-01T21:18:00.000Z

HA!
I've written a ditty for the next songfight 'Piece of my heat' which I will offer to my good friend Ivy Vee. Hopefully he will pull his finger out and record it tomorrow.
I wish the titles would become a tad more 'inspiring'. These last few weeks they have been, in my most humble opinion, shite.

The First of December yet again...

2004-12-01T01:52:00.000Z

Does it ever get easier? I'm beginning to fear it doesn't.
Yet another year rolls towards conclusion, yet another year in which, other than writing a few songs I have achieved nothing of any great import. It makes me wonder quite what the point of it all is. I used to be a thoroughbred panglossian (cheers dude, you know who you are) but now I seem to have become a jaded old fuck, without any of the benefits that should accompany such a grandiose title.
Life seems to be made up soley of struggling to pay endless bills. I remember, in odd moments of lucidity, times when I had fun. These now seem to be fewer and much, much further between.
Perhaps all will become clear... Then again I won't hold my breath.
Even Cat seems slothful and moribund these days, and she's probably a more accurate reflection of my state of mind than anything else.
Hey ho. Onwards and upwards.
I will write another song this year if I have to beat myself over the head with a mallet.

More Blogger Trouble

2004-11-20T14:40:00.000Z

I move my blogger hosting from blogspot to an ftp server. Then I moved it back again... My entire blog is there but won't publish. Or perhaps I should say I can't work out how to publish it.

----- Edit-------
It's been pointed out that the above is meaningless as it appears 'live' as it were. However when I began this blog Cat persuaded me to sign a contract that states (in a nutshell) 'I will never delete a post for whatever reason'. So here the above remains to point out to the world quite how daft I am.

Oh... Here's a goody. Check it out...
www.fictionette.com has a short story competition: 2,500 words with a deadline of 30th November. Winner gets £500 of books or £300 cash.
I am entering.

Finally!

2004-11-19T03:01:00.000Z

OK. I'll admit it. I lost my password to blogger. Not only did I lose the password but my logon name as well. I have been trying sporadically over the last three weeks to blog and couldn't. Damn frustrating, and to cap it all now I have finally remembered I'm suffering a distinct lack of anything to say. Except I'm back...

Addendum

2004-09-04T17:01:00.000Z

So last post I was a miserable git, this one I'm happier.
The cat vanished for two days. High angst and wailing with muttering on the side. She was found on the window ledge of the neighbours house. Lots of bonding with people I don't really want to talk to let alone know (the neighbours) ensued. This involved carrying heavy ladders, oh's and ah's as I nearly dropped the beast, and congratulatory comments.
Back to hating them all, Until today when I spent time driving a mini digger (BIG BIG FUN) and 'Doing' the road.
'Doing' the road is a bi-annual occupation. Simon (No.4) plays scoutmaster, and the rest of us are the pack. We buy 20 tonnes of road plannings and spread them as best as we can up the drive (400 metres). What I would dearly love to know is where the last 20 tonnes have gone in the interim? The road doesn't get any bigger, or higher. Perhaps they evaporate. Or get stolen by tarmac loving pixies... It's a point I ponder from time to time.
Anyhow...
I got Jim Tyrrrell's cover in on time, and he seems to like it. Of course then we all got a weeks extention and I'm thinking of re-recording the harmonies and tweaking a bit.
I entered a song for 'Cold Sweat' which has had mixed reviews, though Bolio seems to like it a lot. I have written an entry for 'As icons of my youth fall silent' which I might or might not get finished in time, and might or might not enter under another name...
So all in all I'm in a more positive frame of mind, and, and I haven't taken any mind altering substances to be here.
I'm starting beginning a project with Kapitano called 'The K Twins'. Must get my act together on this, as he's already demo'd one stellar track 'Does She'. His voice is getting better too, so I'll have to be careful or I stand to look at my laurels!

Torn

2004-08-25T00:35:00.000Z

Another pointless self recriminating blog entry:
I have a great song to record for a 'Coverfight'.
' Between the Rain' by Jim Tyrrell is the sort of music I love, the sort of music that I could perform well, and yet can I 'get it together' to learn this track well enough to record it? Can I fuck.
I would really like to know why.
And while I'm at it I want to know why I have spent four hours sitting here dicking about in a truly pointless manner rather than achieving something concrete, or at the very least catching up on some sleep.
I did achieve one thing however. I downloaded 'ACID lite' for the PC. This looks like it could be a really useful bit of software... This is of course dependant on my sorting out the PC, and if I get the urge to do that in the next millennium I will amaze myself...
I am supposed to be writing and recording an album with Kapitano shortly. I am on the one hand looking forward to this a lot, and on the other don't really give a damn.
The best laid plans are often thwarted by lassitude, and I am lassitude personified at present.
It's raining outside. Heavily.

'I'm With Steve Now' Pt 2

2004-08-22T23:03:00.000Z

I spent all day knowing exactly what I should be doing with this bloody song, and being unable to achieve it.
Eveything impedes me:
The room I work in is messy, so I should clean it... Can't be fucked.
I should have spent time 'doing' the garden... ditto
I should have written a long letter to a client, but I couldn't be fucked to do that either. QED I felt, and still feel guilty. Infact mentally it's taking me straight back to my school days where I spent more time coming up with excuses for not doing an assignment, than it would have taken to do the assignment in the first place.
Am I odd? I don't know. Probably.
I've come up with a resonable explanation for being the way I am. It's very simple and goes like this... I think of myself like an onion (btw it works for everyone).
I was born as this little 'nub' of spirt, thing, soul: call it what you will. Each day that goes by, each experience we have adds a layer to this onion.
Ergo the older you get, the more layers have been added, and the harder it is to reach back and connect with the 'nub' that is the real you.
At present I feel like I'm about to be chopped up and added to some peculiar sauce.
I do know that I have to do something about the state I'm in before it gets any worse. The question is what. Cat has no answer.

I've uploaded the finished 'I'm With Steve Now' so at least I don't have to worry about that. It does piss me off that it's not where I want it to be, still in the grand scheme of things does it really matter? Mediocraty rules with Apathy as his queen.

I'm with steve now - Songfight

2004-08-22T12:35:00.000Z

They do come up with some strange titles. However I have this one sussed and I'm Reggaefying it (perhaps a new word for the OED). I should say white man's reggae, as I'll never get that true island feel in a month of sundays.
Kapitano turned me on to Godfrapp's 'Black Cherry', and it has totally blown me away... It's 'Fantastical'. So I have decided to change my style for a while. To get away from the usual pap I write and 'into' something else.
With the fates willing Kapitano and I are hopefully going to write and record an ep soon.

Tempus Fugit

2004-08-22T01:20:00.000Z

So much has happened since I last put finger to keyboard and blogged.
Some good things, some bad, and yet I'm still around to tell the tale.
Funny that. I went through a patch were I thought the eaiest way out of the many problems this planet chucks at us is to remove yourself from it. As I write I think that I'm probably wrong. You have to face the day to day shit with girded loins and a large wacking brick, and on the odd second off, count all the things you have to be grateful for. It seems on reflection I have more positives than negatives at present.
I have made a new friend. A friend is a rare thing. You don't have many friends in your life, and to make a new one is something to celebrate.
Cat agrees in her usual laconic way.
As far as songwriting goes I've been both a busy and a very lazy beaver. written a lot, though none have been finished to any degree of personal satisfaction.
Songfight continues and I've now benn involved in 11 fights on my own, 2 with Kapitano, one 1 hour sidefight, and submitted 3 entries to another sidefight entitled 'the one'.
I'll try to keep this blog more current from now on, more as a personal excercise in discipline, than from any hope that it will be read.
There it is then.

What a bloody day it's been

2004-05-19T16:30:00.000Z

Need I say more?

Teaching Dawg New Tricks

2004-05-06T14:34:00.000Z

Cat is impressed. I've got a 6.00pm to teach Dawg some html. Cat thinks I should teach Dawg something else entirely (and unprintable), but is satisfied that I will bring her home snacks.
I, on the other hand, am stuck and bereft of ideas for 'Twelve Monkeys'. Damn stupid song title...

'Twelve Monkeys'

2004-05-06T01:28:00.000Z

Songfight 4 - Title:'Twelve Monkeys'
This time I'm in collaboration with a writer called Kapitno. He writes Electonica, and is creating the Backing, whilst I lyricise (like dancercise but not), vocalise and quite possibly harmonise. then magic will happen and...
Cat is not impressed.

Bloody Banks... and Computers

2004-05-04T16:18:00.000Z

Nice woman at bank was confused when her computer refused me a loan. "You've got an excellent account sir, I can't understand it!"
Neither can I.
Computers are THE power now. Fuck the 'Terminator' concept that they will become sentient sometime soon. They don't have to be sentient to rule, we just have to invest enough data and voila... No loan for you Sir.
Gates might well be thought of as a nerd, but he's a damn clever one. Either that or he had some damn fine ju ju on his side.

3rd Songfight entry

2004-05-04T06:37:00.000Z

Submitted to my third fight yesterday. A song with the title 'Talk about your feelings'.
I am obsessed at present with the 'Divine Comedy', a band that is simply brilliant. Cat thinks they play 'old people's music', but what does she know. Bloody Cat. Anyway, to cut a potentially waffling and long diatribe shorter, I wrote 'Talk about your feelings' in the style of one of my favourite Divine Comedy tracks... The sections all work individually, but I'm not so sure if they do holistically (man). Only time will tell.
Songfight critics are very odd ,and,very helpful. There is a huge disparity in points of view, with some liking some bits, others other bits. Like life on a microcosmically grand scale. No totlal negatives yet though, which must be good.
Note to self: You can't please all of the people all of the time... So don't fucking try.
I was chuffed to have submitted to three fights in a row, however I've found that the record is 32 consecutive fights! Phenomenal stuff, considering that generally publishing deals stipulate twelve songs a year!

I played a couple of songs at a pub in Hove (Sussex) on Sunday night. One of those open night things David turned me onto, run by a chap called Clive. Good fun, but a long way to go for two numbers. It was a bit like live kareoke. I was amazed at the lack of original material (especially after hanging out at Songfight for a while). Why cover other peoples songs if you don't have something different to add to them? There were some good musicians, but only two others that played their own material. Very odd.
Afterwards I had several people say how much they liked my material, and one woman Veritably gushed. I'm never sure how to take praise. Criticism I handle well, but praise stumps me. I keep thinking 'what do they want? There must be an ulterior motive here'. I consulted with Cat, but she, just gave me the tail.
She's becoming a bit introverted of late.

* Latest*Songfight entry in!

2004-04-27T08:37:00.000Z

Well there it is. My second Songfight entry is in under the title "Take a Pill". Why not check it out and vote?
Because I'm the only prune reading this.
Oh, I'm sure there are more out there!
What, more prunes?
Ummm...
(shouts loudly) Helloooooo...
...a deafening silence.

P.S. Dawg has good sense of music, much to Cat's chagrin. During a lull in hostilities Dawg turned her on to an English songsmith called Lois Turpin. Seriously good. I think she only told me to incite jealousy. Needless to say it worked. He has a voice that is reminiscent of Negro spirituals, though he is a white English man. Odd who God favours... Oh Lordy, can you gimme Hallelujah!

Balls!

2004-04-26T01:21:00.000Z

Balls! Two numbers on each ticket (I was really hoping for the big shamozz, all six, but would have been happy with five). However, as they say in certain quarters, "Sweet Fanny Adams". Why they say this when everyone knows what it means is a mystery, But you get the gist.
I haven't won anything in... Sweet Fanny Adams (lose 'Sweet', and substitute 'ages' for 'Fanny').
BALLS to your balls. Never again! Do you hear me! Never again!..

Until the next time ^ (';') ^

Lottery

2004-04-26T01:07:00.000Z

Having just published the previous entry I spied two lottery tickets. One from yesterday, and another from last wednesday. It suddenly stuck me I could be sitting here with a bit of paper in front of me worth several million pounds... Or nothing at all.
Money troubles over? Or not?
It's a mildly exciting way to head for bed. A bit like Christmas eve... Has Santa got me the action doll with pump action virgina or did Santa stay too long in the bar with the elves? See what I mean? Millionaire? Not a millionaire?

Of course if I was a techno nerd I could check on the lottery site... Byeeeeee

Why oh why?

2004-04-26T00:48:00.000Z

Oh why is it always so late at night when I get the urge to rabbit? Why can't I be normal and go to be at a normal time?
This of course begs the question 'what is normal?' This for me (brain the size of a pea) is far too much of a philosophical question to ask, especially at this time in the A.M.
On another more sanguine note, I have recorded most of my 'Take a Pill' entry for Songfight this week. I think it will end up being rather good (humility personified), though very off genre for me; and because of it quite exciting. Thanks to my super duper 10m phono lead I nabbed a couple of samples from 'Pulp Fiction'. Apologies, in advance to Mr Tarantino. If you want a wee challenge see if you can guess what the song will be about. Duuuh.

Cat said to say hi. She would have done it herself but is far too busy snoozing. Lazy damn thing.

Songwriter's dilemma

2004-04-25T01:27:00.000Z

What do you do when what you do is not going where you want it to?
Do you stop or carry on if your muse has fled and the cat has gone?
Should one rest when a deadline looms and hope your muse will return quite soon?

Bollocks to it. I'm off to bed... Perchance to dream of faraway lands made available by the largesse of the Lottery... Please oh please your noble Camelotness, just a small jackpot would do. Or failing that, any wee sum you fancy to wing my way.

P.S. Cat doesn't understand lottery, except when I tell her snacks will become abundant.

Today I'll 'Take a pill'

2004-04-24T11:46:00.000Z

Yaroo! Songfight two. It's got to be in by 9.59am pst on the 27th. This gives me longer as I'm gmt. Is this cheating I ask? But no, how can it be? Alas with Concorde having shuffled off it's mortal coil, there's no way to make good use of time differences except on the net.

The title for this week are: Red 'Take a Pill', Blue 'Fight the Sea' and Green 'A very unlikely occurence.' I was thinking you could have a lyric that goes:
'I'm gonna take a pill to fight
the sea sickness that I feel,
but It's a very unlikely occurrence
That it will work'.
But where would I put it? Could I in fairness submit it to all three?

So assuming a German accent: "Zis veek ve shall be doinge 'Take a pill'." I've written it. Today I'll record it, and tomorrow I vill rule zee verld!

Too much John Cleese, or perhaps not enough. Watched 'The Holy Grail again last night. Cat didn't understand a lot of the humour, but was entranced with the wooden rabbit. So entranced that she had to go and catch one for herself.

Imagine the dead of night, the quiet browsing of the web, the clicking of the mouse. And then LOUDLY, from just under your seat you hear 'SCRuuuuNch!' Leaping up, (as you do when terrified at three in the a.m.) Cat is staring nonchalantly back, whilst devouring the hindquarters of butchered baby bunny.

Cat does this a lot. She says it helps the farmers with the Rabbit problem. I say 'Balls! It upsets my Muse (which it does). I then proceed to remove said bunny, Cat looks peeved, then sulks.

A litter bit of that

2004-04-23T14:37:00.000Z

Off to obtain litter for cat.
It truly pisses me off that I have to pay for them to crap.
They go outside. They have a garden, lots of glorious fields nearby. But no. They troll about all day, doing what they damn well please, and then they come back to use the litter tray... WHY?
Grizzle bloody grizzle.
"well if you don't want to look after the cat, you shouldn't have the cat"
Yes. Alright already. But why do they have to crap indoors?

Meow'dle purr-avists' rule?

2004-04-23T00:30:00.000Z

She's at it again. Huffing. She found out (though I tried really hard to hide it) I had been giving IT lessons to Dawg.
Not keen on Dawg at all. Though her time from Dawg zero to tree top is improving rapidly. Might be the weather, though I think on reflection it's more likely the slathering drool snapping jaws that do it.

Cat is miffed (again)

2004-04-22T22:30:00.000Z

Cat is terribly miffed. Sitting by the mixing desk she yowls at me. I however have the perfect solution to this problem. Headphones. Good things headphones, they keep out all sorts of unwanted noise!
So she sulks off in a huff (cats do huff, although noted journals claim otherwise).

Cat would like me to add here that she thinks I spend far too much time 'Up Myself'. This is her way of saying she doen't approve of computers, mixing desks, and a lot of the time me.

First blog. Oooh I'm proud

2004-04-22T13:45:00.000Z

Well hey. I'm blogging at last.
I've heard so much about this, created blogs for others (under the disguise of a day job), and now I'm finally doing it. Well when I say I'm, I really mean we're, because cat has driven me to do this. She seems interested in everything bloggish, and will be co-writing this.

So an introduction is in order. Dear blog, I'm Kamakura, a songwriter and have just had my first SONGFIGHT. The title was 'The Puppet's Dream'.

This is a really neat & cool (for the valley crowd) site for songwriters and new music aficionado's. They post three songtitles each week. You pick one and write, record, mix and upload it within the week. Then the battle begins. Big fun. You vote, you critique, you slang, you bicker. It beats the hell out of vegging out to the tube. A bit like Eastenders without the script. Or so cat tells me.

Anyway. I'm off to procure snacks for cat, before she starts up... Again.