Friday 30 January 2009

I just don't get it!

No this is not an admission of celibacy ! I know how your minds work (see last blog for details) No ...i just don't get it......

In the last half hour I've found out weird and wacky details about someone i know,been invited to be a pirate ,kidnapped and taken to chicago, invited to fight for every cause under the sun,been sent maltese food,asked about 100 questions as to whether I cry,pick my nose,have kids eat crap ,talk crap, sleep crap, touch crap.....(kind of had to admit to that one....again see the blog before last) been sent pink shrimps...been told by a friend that if the four horse men of apocolypse came crashing through his room he wouldn't wake up...(thats about as much action his bedroom in deepest darkest West Drayton will see .....)found out that a mate in florida if he was to be a crayon he'd be a mauve one and that he is wearing nothing but camouflage shorts?!?!?!??!

Facebook............people come on get a life!

Ok ok Spriggan Mist did go into over drive when we were nominated for the award on facebook ....but come on ......there is so much more to life than being a virtual pirate or gangster........so Im updating my status

YOUR BLOGGER IS... typing a blog as to why facebook is a pain in the rectum

Wednesday 28 January 2009

What I have to put up with......

Like busses my blogs either don't come along for an age and when they do you get two straight after each other......but I need to off load my inner thoughts to the world and what better way than spurting off in my blog.....

I'm surrounded by some really strange people......I've avoided my office for weeks and gone out on exile to the council office as they appeared normal...how wrong I was....I sit next to a Dave Lee Travis throwback who is their manager who has a Bull shit alarm on the wall next to his desk which he hits several times a day!?!?!?! The rotter was responsible for spreading that virus to me and mine......this is why I call him the Germinator.....

but one of the most intriguing creatures in my office is the "Old Dawg".....Old Dawg so called as he is ...well ...getting old....and he plays a resonator guitar and loves blue grass......(The US folky type thing not a weird kind of cannabis) He's learning the Banjo at present and together with his son are actually going to do a a bit of Country at the school fete in July....He's an interesting old fella and once you get past the stench of urine and cabbage and the discarded incontinance pants around his desk he is quite knowledgeable about music and even used to play bass in an 80's band...in the 80's (funnily enough) and I can just imagine him with the fluffed up mullet and huge red glasses, slap popping along to a drum machine and quirky synths......Today he asked me for my email as he has a friend (just the one) who is a bit hot on the old recording techniques and he said he'd get in contact and maybe he could assist with some questions I might have......So the trusting bloke that I am I imparted to the Old Dawg my email address.....Tonight this is what I found in my inbox

From the BBC Entertainment Website :-

DRUMMER WALKS OUT ON THE SPRIGGS.

In a Shock move late last night prodgious Spriggan Mist drummer Arran Cilia sensationally quit the ambient folk rock outfit during rehearsals for their forthcoming world tour to pursue a solo career, citing artistic differences within the Band, the youthful stickman was quoted in the NME as saying " They flippin' well wouldn't even let me do the drum fills that I've been flippin' practising all week!" singling out Bass player 'Big Bad Baz the Bass' he sniffed " I don't care, all folkies smell of dusty mothballs and wet dogs anyway" sources close to the band say that the Spriggs' have lined up a replacement already and will resume touring just as soon as her feet can reach the Bass drum pedal.


hmmmmm........then there is the inuendos that are going on around me at the moment...one of Old Dawg's colleagues proudly anounced to the Germinator that...

"I go down with an umbrella" ....well of course she is known as Mary Poppins now...(which in fairness is what they were talking about but ).

Then on the phone to Mr T whilst chewing the fat about Robinho the Man City player who was arrested for a Sexual assault yesterday I casually said that maybe he should keep his willy in his pants......Mr T then says " Is there much to it? " ....I nearly fell off my chair.

But the most amazing inuendo.......my mother....yes Mother Dearest has done it again.....I innocently went over the building arrangements of our studio with her and explained we were laying the base etc...and then she said ....and I am not kidding you here blog fans.........she said

"Then you will have an erection"

Well I am, excited about the studio but ......

Tuesday 27 January 2009

Barack and Me

So I left Mr T bamboozled ,wandering exactly what it is that Barack Obama and I have in common. ........apart from being highly intelligent Charismatic and popular that is.....of course.

Well you see I didn't quite buy into all the hype.....of course I can see that he is the first Black President of the USA (well he's mixed race actually but we're half the way there)but isn't it a sad state of affairs that he is portrayed in the media not as Obama the president who is all the things above .....(which is why he was elected) but Obama the first black President (which we hope isn't just why he was elected)...lets give the bloke a chance and lets wait and see if this politician is the same as most politicians....I hope not.

He has however got loads going for him ......because on reflection the geezer has got stuff in common with your Blogateer extra ordinaire! Well both our mum's live in Bracknell....and the same neighbourhood too.....(well his stepmum really but if we are calling him Black we can kind of call her his Mum too...she did bring him up).

He likes U2.....they played the night before his anaug anau ano .....swearing in!
I like U2 ....

The first two letters of his name are the same as mine........and of course ...he mucked up his acceptance oath....I "dolemnly Seclared " at my wedding!although I didn't go back and do it again...
It all adds up ...we are almost like brothers from other mothers!

I was going to say that Mr T respects us both .... but T unfortunately has been dissin me via email to my council colleagues and he got found out........suggesting that he enjoyed the quiet when I was off sick......

So what about the music front?.....well the new super dooper shiny spandangled computer is up and running and we are on the finishing touches of a track called Spirals....Mother dearest (who finally came round after we had to convince her we had no germs left in the house following last weekends sloppy bottom saga) really liked the raw track which was so raw it was bleeding.......I'm sure loads will hate this as we like it so much and it is a bit more off the wall and Wifey introduces some Glockenspiel in places...It's kind of angelic with a funky kind of calypso bass line.......kind of.....Orion II is commencing life tonight hopefully .

So as yet again I ponder on whether Pompey boss Tony Adams is going to subject me to more heckling and abuse tomorrow as the Blue Army line up against Aston Villa tonight I wonder if there is any truth in the rumour that OXO are going to market a knew blue and white cube in honour of Pompey called the "laughing stock" (my how I laughed when that one hurtled at me)...almost as much as when i was picking up a steamy smelly dog poo with a placcy bag not realising it had a hole in the bottom and in fact I was gripping $hit!

Sunday 18 January 2009

Humouring Dad

All of us at Spriggan Towers have got that dreaded virus !!! all except for my remarkable little boy Rockstar! I went down with it Friday and i just couldn't get out of bed......Mini Minx started with the projectile technicoloured yawns last night! and this morning Wifey was struck down!!!! I am incredibly tired and my backside has become amazing friends with the loo seat...my stomach has been moaning like a fart in a cavern! with the same sort of acoustics I hasten to add......
But of course the girls were ill so I had to summon as much energy as i could to keep the house running and nurse the ill.....

Rockstar was my wingman all day and when his exhausted 7 year olds body hit the sack tonight I kind of thought he grew up by a few years today. In a brief chance to relax we had this afternoon he even agreed that i could watch the Spurs v Pompey match (he hates football with a passion)

We sat and watched and he asked all manner of questions about the game and as I revelled in some uninterupted father and son bonding watching footie ...I thought yes....maybe just maybe he will like football after all. just after half time duty called to help the girls upstairs and i casually said to my little mimi me..." no I'll go this time....just tell me what happens...." He looked at me and and said "but I don't even know which ones are Pompey?!?!?!?"...........my heart sank...I had a lot of work to do and he was indeed ....just humouring Dad!

So as I turn into bed on a weekend of illness I reflect..........I realise we are now really behind schedule in recording and rehearsing ...........

that it was a Southampton supporter friend of ours who happened to be working nights who was our saviour last night as he replenished our lemonade stocks at 01.20 hours in his traffic car...........!

and that Pompey have taken 4 points off of Spurs this season...and at their own gaf...with those turncoats Redknapp and Defoe...at their "big club".... couldn't beat us ........suddenly being so close to the toilet is a bit more bearable

more when I'm better!

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Why we do it.

Turkey,gammon,mince pies, sausage rolls.....spring rolls chicken on sticks, christmas pudding crisps ,wine, cider,guiness aghhhhhhh! it was endless now it is all sitting on the belly .....I'm afraid of the scales big stylie....to make matters worse my work clothes have all shrunk a size!!!!!I'm back pounding them streets and it hurts. The festive season was really cool for us at Spriggan towers and I hope you all had a great Yule and or Christmas and a great New Year.Ours was very noisey with Rockstar getting his new drumkit and me getting a Bodhran and Wifey getting a Djembe.....we've been banging since Christmas!!!!!

Things have been really busy of late as most of you may know we finished second in the "Muzika Mod Iehor " EP of the year award leading til the 11th hour. To be fair the winning band Nosnow/noalps are a huge band in Maltese circles with a big fan base so we aren't upset,after all it isn't the reason we write and play.
In fact Wifey and I spoke about this the other night.

Why do we do it? primarily ...fun.Hearing a finished song is satisfying it stretches are music ability and our ability to record music too. Days of winter ...we were really proud of and it didn't quite have the impact we had hoped but Kultural Karma although we knew it was a good song we kinda sat on it for a few months unsure if it was Spriggan Mist or not ...as luck would have it people are putting it up there with Lazy Stones?!?!?!?
So although I don't like new year's resolutions ...i feel that this year We should go with what we've got ....regardless of how we feel a track si going to perceived......if we've done it and we like it and do it to the best of our ability ...it gets released!!!! after all Wifey feels the songs are a gift (too difficult to explain ) and she feels it right to release it.

After all we are hardly the age or type to be looking to have a music career are we? If you are sad enought to watch X factor.....(personally it's as much fun as dropping your mobi in the urinals during a really important call.) you can see what the general public want ....pretty faces run of the mill voices singing songs made up of three basic chords.......So we aren't looking to please anyone or prove anything to anyone this year just make music and put it out there...if anyone likes it......fantastic! if not ...no problem ...the lyrics, the tunes and Dark Marge's artwork are far more important to us than if Joe Blogs likes it!

Monday 5 January 2009

Kultural Karma

Kultural Karma
written by Maxine Cilia

Max-Lead and backing vocals ,banjo,acoustic and electric guitars
Baz -Bass, backing vocals

Written during a boring course at work,Kultural Karma has been knocking about for a while now (about a year). Originally written by Wifey for Stone Jesters (our former band ) It was performed live twice by the jesters but Wifey was not happy with it. so we recorded it ourselves. written for a male voice (space boy actually) we recorded and re recorded the vocals Wifey pulling off the best vocal. Probably the most "pop" like song we have ever done but reflects the place we were at the time none the less a favourite of ours so we recorded it in september 2008 and have released it as the first track of 2009...what's it about? well here are the lyrics

Kultural Karma

Written by Maxine Cilia
Arranged by Spriggan Mist


Theoretical drama
Kultural Karma
Models of Chaos
Set to challenge-all of us

Christian Preacher
Space for every Creature
Alien invasion
Changing the whole nation

Chorus

Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views
Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views

Budhist in meditation
People at the station
Prayers being said
For the living and the dead

Yin and yang Harmony
Dictatorship Tyranny
Death by natural causes
Then the crowd applauses

Chorus

Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views
Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views

Bridge

It's more than one opinion
Hinged at every corner
Held together by fine strings of life
Don't try to break the connection

Chorus

Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views
Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views

Chinese dancing dragon
A drunk on a wagon
Leaves dropping from a tree
A bride falling to her knees

A couple in love
An angel from above
A devil in disguise
Where is paradise?

chorus (outro)

Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views
Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views
Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views
Put on your shoes and dance to the news
Tighten your tie and strangle your views