Dear all,

Huge apologies for the lack of bloggage and for the mysterious goings on on my homepage. I have recently ended up with an iphone would you believe? It’s a quite remarkable contraption capable of astonishing things for a mere machine. The one bugger with it is it’s so dashed complicated it takes a muppet like me considerable time to get to grips with it. The particular feature I struggled with was how to enlarge the internet view so I could actually see it without all hell breaking Continue reading “I’m back!” →

Dear all,

 

Apologies for delay in bloggage I have had a long wifi absence and haven’t got used to typing on this dratted touch screen phone without wishing to throw it violently away. Amazing gig coming up tonight. Will do a full blog when I return to a computer!

Dear all,

 

An eventful week since my last outing. First up, I went to see the fantastic Stream of Sound in Stourbridge. Those of you who don’t know them, check them out. They’re a youth choir but if you think that’s a codeword for a young and trying hard but not professional choir think again, they’re amazing. Then my wonderful girlfriend got herself a new job in Bromley which is absolutely wonderful and made her banjo playing boyfriend very proud. Aw.

 

Anyway, work wise my next outing was an exhausting day at Burnham on Sea folk festival with Christi Andropolis doing a talk on the banjo, a solo gig, a brief guest Continue reading “Hunt, really?” →

I am delighted to report that the release of ‘The Same But Different’ is very nearly upon us – the 3^rd September is when it comes out everywhere although it is already available direct from me at gigs and will continue to be so! Anyway, I’ve had a fair few emails asking what’s going to be on it so without further ado here is my preview of what’s going to be on it:

 

Jigs (Lost At Sea/No More Clues/Page One)

 

What actually made me want to take up the banjo in the first place Continue reading “The Same But Different Preview” →

Dear all,

 

Well I’ve just returned from two fantastic festivals with Walsh and Pound. Solfest on Friday was wonderful because Solfest generally is. I love it, it was the best solo gig of last year arguably and so far my favourite Walsh and Pound one of this year. The audience were clearly remarkably p**sed or otherwise intoxicated but that made them so lovely and loud and enthusiastic and Will and I had an absolute ball. It also meant I was able to see my parents in Penrith which is always wonderful.

 

Next up, we played Towersey yesterday which was just brilliant as ever. I’m a big fan of this festival and it doesn’t disappoint. It was wonderful to finally see the great Donal Lunny Continue reading “Trains are about to get better…” →

Dear all,

 

Just thought you might care to view my recent excursions on the M5. It’s not the best place to rehearse to be honest but the lorry drivers’ faces made for great viewing and their horn beeping was so original…

 

Anyway hats off to the AA they did a cracking job as ever. This weekend Walsh and Pound play Towersey and Solfest so very much looking forward to that and I’m off to my folks tomorrow for the night as well so that’ll be lovely.

 

George Galloway is a colossal twerp. ‘It’s not rape to start having sex with a sleeping woman if she consented the night before’. Yes George it is. And you’re a pillock.

 

That is all.

Dear all,

Well a great night was had by myself and Christi Andropolis last night with a cracking gig at the Ritz Acoustic Club, Burnham on Sea. Christi was on fire and blew the crowd away with her ‘shouldn’t come out of someone who’s only 5 feet tall’ voice. Thanks to everyone who came out and looking forward to folkfest now as well!

Now perhaps you’d like to hear about the journey down…while on the M5 I suddenly felt the car rumble and vibrate and generally not sound or feel too good so said to Christi ‘I think we’ll pull over at the next service if that’s ok’. Then I looked to my right and the passenger in the car was signalling furiously that my tyre was rather Continue reading “The Walsh travel curse” →

Dear all,

This is a brief note to say that as of the end of the year, my duo Walsh and Pound will be no more. This has already been revealed on the duo website www.walshandpound.co.uk and also on mine and the duo’s facebook pages so here completes the set I guess. Many comments have flooded in on facebook and I am genuinely extremely flattered that we seemed to mean something to some. However, all good things must come to an end and both of us feel it’s reached the end of the road and it’s best to jump before things go downhill. Obviously I have this very exciting new solo album and band to push so fear not, you’ll see much more of me! I’m sorry…

Dear all,

 

Apologies for the delayed bloggage in terms of a regular catch up blog although I hoped you enjoyed my musical snobbery article. Thanks for the comments and emails, I occasionally unleash a bit of a journalistic blog I should do it more often as there’s few things more satisfying than expressing one’s opinions particularly against irritating people.

 

Anyway, what the ruddy hell am I on about? The rest of my Northeast visit was absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed returning to the Newcastle tune session scene Continue reading “Cannock should not take an hour from Stafford” →

Musical snobbery is one of the most prevalent things I have encountered and one of the most phenomenally irritating. I have to say what always surprises me given how much I loathed the classical snobbery experienced in music at school, is that actually the greatest snob percentage I’ve found is amongst jazzers. I was in a university jazz orchestra and I have to say much though I enjoyed the gigs and the music, I was frankly stunned by the utterly dismissive nature of them towards anything that wasn’t classical or jazz. They particularly had it in for folk which clearly they were just plain Continue reading “The dangers of musical snobbery” →