Tuesday 24 February 2009

Two become five

don’t know how it happened ,glad it did ……On Friday Spriggan Mist were a Duo...Wifey and I ....by Sunday night we were a 5 piece!!!!!!
I don't know the individuals well enough so blog names are out of the question at this time but they will come. We were approached by a guitarist/violinist singer who wanted to explore maybe joining Spriggan Mist having been on our Myspace so we met with him and the guy can play and we 've agreed that the band should expand...then he tells us that his wife often accompanied him on flute and that she could be another option to the Spriggan Mist sound. So on Sunday after consideration we agreed that yeah a flute would be really cool too (I hope we don't look like ABBA ....you know two couples....I am not wearing flares or growing a full beard and I'm certainly not singing back to back). Then we decided that we could really do with a drummer /percussionist......So at Rockstar's drum lesson I asked his teacher if he knew anyone and he said he'd do it .......so 5 it is .....

The Spriggan Mist sound will change a little I should imagine, as we now have two songwriters and we are probably going to do a few covers too.I'm quite excited by all these changes and although in it's infancy early signs are that this could be good ...really good.

Other news.... The Studio's base is done we are expecting the erection in 7 to 10 days (steady )then sound proofing etc etc...still loads to do and loads to pay out but it will be worth it. there will be an opening party for this I'm sure for the select few at Spriggan Towers.

So pencil in the last weekend in may for the unveiling of the band . Exact date,time and venue not known but we are going to hire a hall for friends and family to come along and be guinea pigs for our set. we'll have a few special guests there too which will be cool ...it will be billed as an indoor festival ,so turn up with your tinnies spread out a mat or pull up a chair and have a chill. We will try and dissuade Mother Dearest from selling dodgy mushrooms and also try and stop her from moshing at the front ....although this may occur if you lot keep supplying her with the Newky Brown.

You see she has gone all militant at her resi home and is leading a Grannies revolt against the housing association that runs the place. They had a secret campaign meeting last night .....you can see it now can't you.....

In a dark corridor late at night (well 1930 hours) a granny appears swiftly manouvering her zimmer frame down the corridor.....as she reaches Mother Dearest's door she stops ...looks up and down the corridor ....she can't see that walking towards her is a housing manager, she spots her ,she leans on her zimmer whistles as if nothing is a miss stating what a lovely evening for bible reading with Ethel it was . The manager turns the corner and granny waits for the footsteps to dissapear into the night before she looks up and down the corridor again she approaches the door and knocks in a secret pattern only known to Grannies . a little hatch opens on the door...." pass word ?" a croaky voice whispers......The Granny looking up and down the corridor again leans towards the hatch and in a fisherman's friend breath whispers back " I need mothballs" ......."what " came the reply "I need mothballs" granny replied with a little more purpose...The door opens and Granny scuttles in . A face appears in the door way looks up and down the corridor and shuts the door firmly , as granny says" That was close ,I nearly got rumbled by a f**king screw!!!!"

Friday 20 February 2009

Train hopping

Half term is nearly at an end and I’ve worked all through it……..Wifey had it off……..(time offwork that is) as I have no leave left so I started each day at about 5 0’clock to finish at 1 pm to enjoy the family a bit……..well on one of these days Wifey and the kids went up to the Natural History Museum for the day at which point I followed and met them and did what you do in the Natural History Museum….look at dead things…..there was a nice dead elephant and a nice dead Bear etc………it was a good afternoon the crowds were plenty and we just couldn’t get into the dinosaur exhibition as the queues were so long…….but then they saw Mother Dearest a few days before so it wasn’t that much of a disappointment ….(oops that’s going to go down like a fart in a wet suit !!!! sorry MD only joshing).

Anyway the point of the story is that at South Kensington Tube I said good bye to the family as they had to go to Waterloo (queue ABBA in all their glory) and I had to go to Paddington (back to the subject of stuffed bears again) as I had to pick my car from West Drayton.……..So on the platform I saw the tube pull in and jumped on …….then realising it wasn’t going to Paddington…….but the tube was going to Ealing Broadway….hoorah! I’d get a train to Drayton from there……and sure enough I get off the tube and in comes an Oxford bound train which would take me to West Drayton except to my surprise as we reached Drayton we sailed on by!!!!!!!!…..oh pants I thought may be it won’t stop til Oxford!!!!!! Luckily it stopped in Slough ….I got off looked across at the London bound platform …there it was ………the train……..(cue chariots of fire music and slow motion camera) I ran up the stairs ….why is it ? that when you are running for the train the biggest fattest slowest woman appears in front of you usually carrying bags usually dithering as to where she’s going to go …..I found this woman and when I finally negotiated her I ran down to the platform and jumped on as the doors were shutting …that was far too much time I cared to spend in Slough!!!…I sat down panting hot, and bothered which I must say scared the proverbials out of this woman sitting in front of me……As the train trundled back to Paddington I suddenly realised………I didn’t check it stops at West Drayton…the little rolling displays weren’t working so I had to put my faith in lady luck ……..who finally shined as I stepped onto the platform ….never thought I’d be so pleased to arrive in West Drayton ………….

So on the music front…..after all this blog is really about the music……recording is going well backing tracks are being prepared and rehearsing has commenced . We have released Spirals on Myspace which has so far been very well received and since Valentines day we’ve had over 200 hits and still rising….We’ve even had an enquiry from a singer ,guitarist violinist who wants to look at maybe joining Spriggan Mist…he sounds quite good too (from his myspace) but anyhow he is coming round to discuss music and the band etc….

Ol’Dawg in the office said “ It’s always nice to play with different people” then said “you know what I mean, not play but bounce off one another” hmmmmm life in the Ol’Dawg yet maybe I was kind of hoping this bloke would maybe join the band not enter into shenanigans of that sort……

In a funny sort of way re recording Lazy Stones last night was like returning to the beginning as it was the first song we recorded …..and whilst I was laying my slidey lazy bass line all I could hear was Wifey on the other computer chortling like a hyena on laughing gas as The Dark Marge was planting the seed in her head on facebook that I need to perform with pixie ears…to which the suggestion was made that maybe I should be wearing a faery dress…….I couldn’t possibly post my reply to such absurd suggestions

Wednesday 11 February 2009

Anniversary

14 years!!!!! ………………..Been married 14 years today …blimey how time flies…..I’m not going to do the …….”you get less for burglary” joke as that would imply that being married to wifey is a bad thing and would also wind me up in casualty probably. Well today unlike 14 years ago it is sunny. We have Folking live to look forward to tonight and Uiscedwr are playing which is going to be a fantastic gig. We’ll probably have a curry tonight too. So happy days…..especially as Wifey bought me another first account WW1 book (I love them books) and a 3 disc David Gilmour live in Gdansk cd/DVD…which I had on at breakfast this morning as Rockstar sat howling to “Comfortably Numb” I whipped out my acoustic bass and mimic’d Guy Pratt’s bass line (well Roger Waters really but you know what I mean…you don’t? …oh well means I’m waffling again) I often wonder whether in about 30 years time our kids will tell their kids how their Grandfather would whip out his bass at 7 O’clock in the morning to prance around the kitchen.

Wifey actually made me laugh …..as we stood watching Gilmour sliding his fingers up and down the fretboard , he was making that familiar Gilmour pout he does. Wifey said “ look he’s really having himself isn’t he”….”A real guitarist I’m digging this face” reminded me of Eddie Murphy on his stage show demonstrating facial expressions at other enjoyable moments……but maybe that is for another day……(the subject of Eddie Murphy that is…..not….well…….you know….I’ll stop digging.) Yesterday though was not such a good day …..my PC was giving me grief and I emailed our IT kind of people who look afer a particular database I work with……so the emails went like this ……



“My computer crashed again ,when I logged back into the database it thinks I 'm still logged in ??!?!? can you help?”

“You will have to ring 69555 and report the fault to them...Let me know how you get on as I am sure you will require a new password.”

“The last time this happened I was told to do this, and they told me to email you
It's because the computer keeps crashing (I have a techy coming out for that today )
do you reckon a size 12 boot will work right on the monitor?....no? .......ok ......bare with me……”

So I phoned the number as told

“OK…I spoke to the nice lady on 69555 and guess what? yes!....... she asked i contact you to reset my password
now just in case you think i'm telling porky pies (the shame of it ...being an upstanding member of the firm I wouldn't do such a thing)

she gave me a call number 1938486

please please can you reset my password before I completely loose the will to do any work today and go home sit in the corner and chew on my golden retriever's hide bone

thanking you for your time”

“You clearly have had enough of that database..computers etc etc......as for your size 12 boot????......maybe not! I am happy to help you once your techy has been to see you!!!!”

“But I need that database I only have this one computer i can work on .........this computer has been crashing for about 5 weeks now and i have had the techy out about six times .........

they won't give me a new computer.....they change this and that and the other but it still isn't working .........rather like me really ….but I can't do anything without that database today. Unless I leave the civic centre and go to another office.......but then i don't have the council system to update my findings from that database......I could sit hear emailing you all day as pleasant as it is but i really do need to do some work now

please reset my password...my dog's hide bone is really starting to appeal.”

An email was sent with my reset password

“I thankyou ,size 12 boot was poised you saved a poor hapless computer from certain death
nice doing business I feel sanity returning”

then I sent

“It was truely a great thing!...my database ...open ...ready to use........I did my search that I'd been trying to do for the last hour typing it with a great smile on my face waiting to see what the search would give me.................like searching for eggs left by the bunny in the garden at easter......a beautiful moment ....the search came back............

No hits returned...........typical...an anti climax!”



“LOL.............I feel very sorry for you.....but i haven't laughed like in ages...and because of my loud laugh i had to tell the rest of the office.....They too are now in stitches (thank you).....I feel your pain re that databases

I take it there will be no update for me to read??....Sorry i'm being cheeky now!!”




I was so pleased to have brightened someone’s day up………inadvertently mind ! All I wanted to do was my job!!!!! I don’t know why people call me a clown especially when I’m being serious….hey ho….