General

The never-ending to do list

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Hello again. It’s been a while.

Just realised how much there is to catch up with around here. I appear to be in deficit of 9 song’s worth of write-ups. Plus the “recent music” promo isn’t the most recent music.

Crikey.

Ok, a brief catch up then. I do intend to do some work around here tidying and catching up soon, but this little blog post will be in lieu of that for an undetermined while.

The headline is that I have been busy with work, family and study. Unfortunately over the last year-ish, music has taken slightly more of a back seat than I would have hoped. But there’s still stuff on the go. I’m going into the studio at the end of February, I have a few radio appearances and gigs booked in, and I’m weighing up releasing the audio from last year’s NAG Listening Room as a live acoustic EP.

Longer term, I am keen to make a Pedestrian zero album. I’ve started some outline planning, but I need to work out a financial plan, ultimately.

Watch this space, I guess.

Hope you’re all doing well.

Over three years of this nonsense

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Ok ok, it’s not nonsense.

But we made it to three years. 37 songs are now in the can (although only 35 have currently been released). I wish I had some kind of insightful reflection on that, but I really don’t. I can say that I have enjoyed it. It’s fun to think back to when there was only one song and I couldn’t wait for that song a month playlist to fill up.

I kind of took an unintentional break over January and February. Partly because I was trying to work out whether I should do something different. I’m still kind of undecided on that point, so I headed back into the studio last week. Stick with what you know I suppose.

As for the two unreleased tracks… Well, one has only just been finished (which was quick work on Paul’s part let me tell you). And the other is getting a video. I decided to wait to release with the video, for reasons that are unclear even to me. I’m actually half tempted to release them out of order. I guess watch this space.

Finally, I realised I should give this site a little more love. This will take a bit of time to get up to date. I have 4 singles, an EP and a sister EP to write about still. I started by getting the most recent single, These Ghosts, sorted. That way the site at least looks current!

I think that’s about it. See you soon.

Bianniversary

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Oops. I did it again. It’s been a busy few months since Nostalgesics was released. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking with it.

So we passed the 2 year marker. 24 songs have now been released (25 actually, but who’s quibbling). For now I’m keeping straight on. I’ve managed to miss February, but I have two studio dates booked for March, so we’ll keep up.

The three releases I’ve missed on here are

Folding Flags [feat. Ant Martin]: read – listen
Dressed in the Dark: read – listen
QGD: read – listen

There was a vague plan to compile the first two years of a song a month into something physical. But I haven’t had time to get very far with that. Any ideas or suggestions about what form this should take will gladly be received though.

Hopefully speak sooner next time 😛

Lyrics – Hair trigger

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I just realised that it was a thing once-upon-a-time that I would type lyrics of as yet unreleased songs into this box on this webpage and hit ‘Publish’ and then you would read them. Well my friends it is now a thing again!

Before I hit you with the lyrics to a song which literally got recorded today (and literally got written this week – oops), I’d better give you a run-down of what has been up.

There’s been a longer than usual break in releases, for which I apologise. But it’s about to get good really soon. We recorded a new Roo’s Radio track back in May and it’s very very close to release (we’re just sorting out the artwork). Then we took a break in June because of various things. This means that there will be two songs recorded in July, to catch up. So there’ll be three songs along in a closer space of time than you’re used to. Which will make up for the bigger gap I hope.

Anyway, once again I wasn’t as organised as I had hoped I might be, so I’ve ended up writing and recording a song in less than a week. I’ve generally been pleased when this has happened in the past. And I think I am again. So without further ado, please enjoy (or not. But hopefully do) the lyrics to Hair Trigger

Hair trigger
Just what is this supposed to be? It’s really not enough to be setting me off
This barely veiled hostility; a dagger right in front of me – tell me to stop
Just tell me one more time
And I will try

Just what were you expecting me to say?
I would have had this any other way
Believe me it’s not easy, believe me it’s not straight
Believe me I’m not done with this today

With all of my excuses, all the apathy and enmity burning me up
I’m finding less and less of who I want to be and I’ve had enough
I think I’ve had my fill
And I won’t lie

Does it really make it better?

We need to talk

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Hey there.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

I’m not keeping to a predictable routine with this. At all. Oh dear. I think we can at least all agree that the important thing is that I’m getting the music out every month. On that note I recorded the 15th song since this started last week. Which is pretty pleasing.

I’ve also started spreading my love around some of those lesser sites that are not this blog. And I’m also spreading the musical love around lesser stores that are not my bandcamp store.

With the non-music store things I try to make sure that everyone gets something a little bit different. And I also try to make sure that this place is the best place for all the info. Similarly, my bandcamp store offers free downloads and full information about the songs including the lyrics.

I think that’s about all I’ve got.

Make sure you check out my latest two releases:

Colours to the mast (download)
Doubleplusungood (download)

Happy new year! And happy new music!

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Happy new year! We made it!

This week I released the 12th track that we recorded in 2016.

Here it is!

I’m just going to carry right on in 2017 and see where this all takes me. My apologies for not maintaining as constant a presence on here as possibly I could have. Lots to do and posting blogs slid down the list of priorities. I’ll do my best to keep going though.

See you soon.

Catching up

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Well gosh it’s been a busy old time. Not all with music unfortunately. Although I’m well aware that we’re overdue a couple of tracks at this point.

Worry ye not. They’re in the pipeline. Someone Else’s Problem is currently being mastered and will drop any day now. I also have an instrumental version of that, that I’m working out what to do with.

And then we were in the studio a few weeks ago to record But That’s Just Me… This will be the first Pedestrian zero single featuring someone else on lead vocals the whole way through. That’s a bit different, but I’m liking it.

I’ll be popping back with some lyrics for that and some studio pictures for both.

Then next week Roo’s Radio are back in the studio. And the funny thing there is we’re not actually sure what we’re doing yet. So I should get on that.

We’ll talk soon.

So much so much…

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Hello I’m back. There’s a bit of a backlog I’m afraid. I’m pretty sure I still owe you photos from two studio sessions, lyrics for the next song, possibly a NAGfest post? And of course it’s getting closer to new music time. Hooray.

Part of the reason for this little backlog is busyness at work. But another reason is that I went to my first Glastonbury last weekend. And what fun it was.

To start with, Jack and myself rode 30ish miles from Bristol on Thursday. This was almost as bad an idea as it sounds, but despite my slight lack of fitness, we made it and it was enormously fun. And it meant we were able to have free hot showers all weekend.

Looking through the schedule trying to compose a list of what we did see, it occurs that we might have not actually got to very much. I have to say, I’d do it the same again if I had another chance. Despite my lack of experience, I’m pretty sure the best thing to do in most situations is enjoy yourself and your company and not worry in the slightest about what you might be missing out on…

So below is the golden list (including everyone we saw however briefly). Don’t ask me to play favourites, I can’t do it. It was a great weekend. Think I missed something great? Think I’m a muppet for seeing all of the headliners? Want to tell me about it in the comments? Tough luck cos I turned them off. Rage away internet!

Adele
Bad Sounds
Band of Horses
Bear’s Den
Billy Bragg
Braids
Christine and the Queens
Coldplay
Elle King
Emily Capell
Eska
Foy Vance
Jeff Lynne’s ELO
Kezia
Lewis and Leigh
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir
Muse
Of Monsters and Men
Ratboy
Reef
Squeeze
The Big Moon
The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Wildwood Kin
Will Varley

Dissection

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What a week. I think I’d like to talk further about some these things, but being as how I’m also pretty busy this week, it will need to wait a little bit longer. Seemed right to do a brief summary though.

  • First off, on Saturday 21st we were recording dog Tired, which I believe I mentioned. Hoping for release early next week.
  • Next, Wednesday evening was a strangeday practice. The previous practice saw all of us feeling a little tired and kind of lack lustre, but this one was way better. The practice was in preparation for NAGfest. More of which later.
  • Thursday was the last NAG Open Mic. I’ve been running this open mic with Jack for 10 years. It was a really nice evening to end on, and I’m hoping to talk a bit more about that in a post dedicated to the subject.
  • Friday was a Roo’s Radio practice, again for NAGfest. It went on pretty late as we were trying to get the set ready and it had been a long time since we’d played together.
  • Saturday was the first day of NAGfest, a local music festival in its second year. Roo’s Radio were on at 6pm. Our set went really well. Paul, who had also done a lot of the organisation for NAGfest, joined us on drums, and it all felt very comfortable. Despite having not played for a while I think the songs are with us now.
  • Sunday was the second day of the festival, and strangeday were playing at 8pm. This set also went well, although I was struggling a little voice-wise due to a lot of late nights and lots of singing. We played a new song, Long defeat, which possibly went down better than all the other songs.

It was also great to catch a lot of great bands and friends at NAGfest. Jack, Ant, Steve, 3dBs Down, Ab and the Underclass, No Limit Street Band, Sam, Aaron, Hog Roast, One Day Elliott and Beer Pressure were all very cool.

Onwards

Long live the king

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There’s been talk for a while now about albums being dead. Talk like that is nonsense anyway, so I’m not about to write another post decrying or supporting simplistic rubbish.

What I will say is that this has been a pretty album-happy few weeks for me. I got Beyoncé‘s Lemonade and Radiohead‘s A Moon Shaped Pool as well as pre-ordering Foy Vance‘s Wild Swan (which drops tomorrow – huzzah!) and Switchfoot‘s Where The Light Shines Through.

I’m not going to get into reviewing on here. I don’t think. But I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve heard so far.

That said, for musicians without large followings there does seem to be less incentive to put all of that time and energy into making something as cohesive as an album. Certainly it makes more sense for me to do what I’m doing in releasing singles on a roughly regular schedule (on that note, Somewhere in between is currently with the mastering guy). This keeps me, and hopefully you, more interested and is a hell of a lot less work.

We did the album thing last year, and it took roughly 850 working hours last year to get the thing finished. And that doesn’t include physical production, launch planning, marketing or the launch itself. It was totally worth it, and we have a finished product which I don’t think is on the level of international acclaim, but which we’re really proud of and very happy with.

But it was a lot of work and a lot of waiting. And there was nothing to keep the public momentum going in between. In terms of momentum for us, that took a lot of sheer willpower and planning.

So here we are. And because it’s been a year (ish) since we went into the studio to record The Way Home, I will be posting some more about the process in the coming weeks. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the insight as much as we enjoyed making it.