Remember, remember the 5th of November...

Gunpowder, treason and plot!

I LOVE bonfire night.   One of my favourite holidays in the year.   The cozy feeling of warming yourself around a beautiful big bonfire outside,   the cold snap in the air  and the trees almost stripped of their Autumn gold.  

It brings back wonderful memories of my childhood,  Mum and Dad walking us up to Farmer Cain's field for the neighbourhood celebration,  to see the Guy Fawkes atop the bonfire,  waving sparklers in our gloved hands,  and the fireworks exploding above our heads.  Lovely.  Not only that, but having Halloween (called Hop-Tu-Naa on the Isle of Man),  Bonfire Night,  Christmas, and New Years all in quick succession,   Children went absolutely nuts at this time of year.

What has brought on this sudden,  sentimental flashback you ask?  I just went to my first Bonfire night in 5 years!  For the first time in half a decade I happened to be back in Britain on November 5th.    And I had forgotten how much I love this day.  With this being a uniquely British holiday,  I tried explaining it to my Chicagoan Fiancé... and in doing so,  realised how odd a holiday it is!

The history of Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes night as it is also called) really started on November 5th 1605,  after an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London,  and the assassination of King James I was discovered.   The Gunpowder Plot,  as it was known,   was a conspiracy to 'remove' (read blow to bits...)  the Protestant King,  and replace him with a Catholic Head of State.    Guy Fawkes (one of the conspirators) was found in the cellars underneath the House of Lords guarding a whole cache of gunpowder kegs.   Fawkes and his fellow conspirators were then promptly taken to the Tower of London, tortured,  found guilty of High Treason,  then sentenced to be Hung, Drawn and Quartered.  (I shall spare these gory details - but for anyone interested here they are! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanged,_drawn_and_quartered ) .

I can confirm that this was a pretty nasty way to go,   and would more than sting a little.   A couple of aspirin and a lie down would not sort this one out I'm afraid.

To celebrate his survival,  King James I proclaimed November 5th a public celebration.  The people of England would light bonfires all around the country,  and burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes atop it.

We didn't have a Guy Fawkes to burn this year.  We did have a sofa though.  And while sofas are generally incapable of high treason,  they do burn well.

Also,  a lovely attempt at making jacket potatoes on the bonfire ended in them being burned into little charcoal nuggets.

A wonderful night indeed - a big thanks to the lovely Chrisanthou family for having me!

Dx

Jakarta, Indonesia

Hey there!

Hope everyone and everything is well!

Thought I would share some pictures of my trip to Indonesia.  Just amazing! We were (for reasons unbeknownst to us!) treated like royalty out there with Police escorts,  and dinner with the Deputy Governor! Absolutely astounding. It's a beautiful place,  with some of the most generous people I have ever met.  One thing I did notice,  and was a little shocked by,  was the great divide between rich and poor.  Right next to a multi-million dollar shopping mall,  there was a shanty town.  It's a humbling experience,  and makes me tremendously grateful for the opportunities we have been graced with. 

   It was stiflingly hot - and so humid it was permenantly misty.  I am reassured this is the 'dry season'.  My arse!   You are soaked from the humidity as soon as you step outside!  The traffic is BAFFLING. There are NO rules,  and any space on the road is IMMEDIATELY filled with a whole flock of people on scooters with a  death wish.   We actually saw 2 people on a battered old scooter,  the second of which was holding not one,  but TWO full sized rolled up mattresses.  I have this magic on film.  

Photies! 

Big press conference… 

Interview for a big Indonesian TV network

More TV… 

Traditional Jakartan music at the Welcome Dinner, hosted by the Deputy Governor

Playing with a couple of the other international artists, Bill Sims Jr. and Guy Davis,  at the Welcome dinner

Welcoming committee!

One of the beautiful hallways we walked through to get to the dining room

Stairway to the show!

With the Deputy Governor... 

Most importantly - the local beer

AN AMAZING trip - the hospitality was above and beyond - a heartfelt thank you to all who were involved.  We had a great time,  and look forward to returning! Indonesia is an absolutely gorgeous place,  and I whole-heartedly recommend going there if you get the chance.  I shall always remember my time there. 

Davy x 

NEW SONG - 'PASTURES OF PLENTY'

Hi all,
I have a couple of exciting things to announce,
We have just released a new track I am quite proud of. Its my version of the Woody Guthrie song "Pastures of Plenty" in celebration of this year's Woody Guthrie Centennial. 
This track also represents a tie to a great cause I have recently partnered up with, WhyHunger. WhyHunger is a leader in building the movement to end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutritious, affordable food and by supporting grassroots

 solutions that inspire self-reliance and community empowerment.
With many of our grassroots partners struggling right now due to drought, environmental and financial issues, this song resonates strongly with the work of so many farmers and workers whose job it is every day to feed their communities and people throughout the world. A portion of proceeds from sales of this song will go to WhyHunger. 

Please visit whyhunger.org

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pastures-of-plenty-single/id566439454

Quite the weekend...

Phew!

It's been a little while since posting up on here - so apologies for that!

I have just had a pretty remarkable weekend.    It started out like any other really,  just ambling about the apartment in a daze with a humongous mug of tea.  That actually sounds like most days...  But then...

THIS HAPPENED!

Very difficult to make out (combination of crappy phone picture,  and excited shaking) but that is BRUCE SPRINGSTEEEEEEEEEEN!!!

Ambers mother very kindly picked up a few tickets and off we went.

This was my first time seeing Bruce,  and I was utterly floored.   3 1/2 hours he played for.  Non-stop.  As soon as one song was over it was "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUUURRRRRR!!!!" and off they went again! Not once did I fidget in my chair,  not once did I look at my watch.  The 3 1/2 hours whizzed by like it was a 10 minute teaser set.   DID I MENTION THE SONGS?!  Just a genius songwriter,  but you knew that.

And what did I learn from this incredible experience!?

Music is big and it is very, very clever.



The weekend would have been great if it had just stopped there.  But it took an unexpected turn and before I knew it Amber and I were 2 hours out of Chicago and setting up a tent in the woods.














This was Camp Knowles for a night.   I am normally 100% against camping.  The clammy yet cold feeling,  your clothes smelling like fire,  the dirt,  and all of that horrific fresh air.    As a rule I like hotels,  room service, cable television and sleep number beds.  

All of my pre-existing notions were cast out after this little trip.  It was absolutely perfect.  Being out in the country,  the stars,  sat around a little fire we made with a big bottle of wine. Absolutely brilliant.  I woke up the next morning a little tired (no sleep number bed) but filled to the brim with happiness.   

After cooking this immense breakfast;

we drove over to Starved Rock State Park for a pretty scenic hike -

After working off that breakfast we headed home, tired and happy. 

Successful weekend,  and one to remember! 

Dx 

America-land and the great life pinch.

I had an incredible American experience last night,

DRIVE IN MOVIE.

Effing magical.   I sat in the back of a pick up truck (!?!?!!!!) in the middle of a field with other pick up trucks and cars and watched two movies,  one after the other,  scoffing popcorn.   As a kid growing up on the Isle Of Man,  this seemed like the very definition of Americana.  Far off and exotic,  a hot and humid night,  with your 'gal by your side - like from the movies themselves.  Pretty sure I even fantasized about it being in black and white too.

I can now confirm that it is all of this.   Except in COLOURVISION.   Sorry to my lovely American friends,  but I shall always put a U in colour.   And harbour.

I digest...

This and another fantastic experience just made me stand back and pinch myself.  I just got back from some serious recording in Seattle.  My producer, Steve Chrisanthou,  is from Yorkshire in the North of England.  During the session he turns to me with a big grin and says "we are recording in America."  I immediately (and inwardly) checked myself "holy shit".  

If I could run into a 13 year old me and tell him this is what i'd be doing in 12 years...

My dream at 13 was this.   I would walk down to the local youth club where they had an electric guitar.   Not say a word to anyone.  Just march in there.  Pick up the guitar, plug it in and let rip with the lick at 2:23 in this video;

Then walk out.  Right out the door.

"WHO WAS HE!?!" They would yell,  although I knew this was impossible as I grew up in a small town where everyone knows everyone else.

"HE WAS LIKE SOME SORT OF MASKED GUITAR MAN,  HE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE. I LOVE HIM"     It would say on the news as they gave eyewitness accounts of my triumph.

I would be around the corner sniggering with pride.


Never happened.  

It was never going to either. Ridiculous.  But here I am 12 years later and I am filled with the same boyish excitement about music, about being a musician.  About being in America.  I looked at my cat this morning and actually thought to myself;

"you are an american cat"

"meow"

"you have never been to where i am from"

"meow"

"you don't even leave the apartment"

"meow"

"you even have an american accent when you meow"

"MEOW"

"alright, alright I'll feed you..."


Ridiculous.

But MARVELOUS

D x

GEAR and the quest for the unobtainable...

Hello again,

For this installment of my new blog I wanted to touch on a subject very close to my heart.

Shiny things.  Oooooooooooooo

Hello,  my name is Davy and I am a gear-a-holic.   I am beyond help.  The more flashing lights,  knobs to twiddle and fancy coloured boxes the better.  I am a complete victim of clever marketing.  Boutique you say? Hand painted??  I'll take it.  Do you take payment in kidneys? Excellent.

I remind myself of this fantastic Monty Python sketch from The Meaning Of Life;

Yes.  Sometimes I get so carried away with the apparatus it is easy to forget about 'the patient'.

The patient being actually playing and writing music.   You know,  the important things I actually SHOULD be doing instead of drooling over gear porn.   Ask me my stance on true bypass vs buffered effects pedals,  or my favourite reverb units and I can rattle on for hours on end.  Now ask me how to make an F#b11 chord and I will break down and weep at your feet.  Priorities,  hmmm...

I AM trying to rectify this now.   I really should have paid more attention in music class at school.   It just didn't seem that important then.  What did seem important was trying to get closer to my ultimate goal,  being Mark Knopfler.   I think I even bought a headband.

HOWEVER.  I do feel there is a bright side to being a complete gear head.  Your choice in equipment directly influences how you play,  and definitely in my case,  how you write.   The amount of things I've written (whether complete songs or just interesting ideas) from just messing and twiddling with sounds until something pops out that I like,  or until it's made me play a sequence of notes/chords that I NEVER would have stumbled across without a machine that goes Ping.   Compare that with the amount of times I have sat in writing sessions with immensely talented and creative people frozen solid looking like an unimaginative vegetable,  or sat down at home CONVINCED i'm going to write something to be proud of now and ended up just looking at Pro Guitar Shop online to see what new and exciting toy I can immediately lust over.  Sometimes you just can't force these things,  and playing with new (to me) sounds is how I seem to ease into it.

So,  I guess as with all things in life,  finding a balance is key.  Gear is there to be used as a tool to get those creative juices flowing,  to find new and sonically interesting ways to get your feelings across.  It is not there to take over your life and make you immensely boring at dinner parties.  Believe it or not,  most people are just generally not that interested in New Old Stock Mullard preamp tubes.  I have found this out the hard way.  My manager, Bob,  tells me he gets a nose bleed when I start talking about it.

So to close out,  i'm going to share (in no particular order) a few pictures of my favourite pieces of gear.  These things are not just beautiful pieces of art to me,  but inspiring instruments that have led me to expand myself and my music.   I don't want to make this into a 'look what I have' fest.  There are some other instruments and items that I hold very near and dear that I won't mention here.   


Anyways, here we go;

This is my 1934 National Triolian.  Same colour/model and era as my hero Rory Gallaghers'.  Saw it in Gruhns Guitars in Nashville back in 2007 and begged my record label at the time to loan me the cash for it.  I ate bread and soup for months.  There is such a unique sound to these instruments,  every time I pick it up I seem to come up with something. 

This is a relative newcomer to the stable - it's a Paul Reed Smith Guitars Private Stock Signature.   This is every guitar-playing kids dream.  I have ALWAYS loved PRS,  I actually had a pic of a Custom 22 hanging up in my locker at school.  Told Paul Smith this once and he called me a sad bastard.  I never thought i'd get to work with such a wonderful and prestigious company as PRS,  let alone actually be involved with the design of a guitar.  It is a huge honour,  and one I shall treasure forever.  VERY grateful to all my lovely friends out in Maryland for all they do.  There is a lot of love in that factory,  and it shows in every guitar that comes out of it.  

This Bludotone Bludodrive is unfortunately not mine.  It belongs to a very good friend of mine on the Isle of Man,  and he was kind enough to loan it to me while I was recording in England recently.  It MADE the sessions and inspired me to play outside of my comfort zone.  People forget that amplifiers truly are just as important as the guitar.  This one is special.  I now have one on order.  Simon - I love you but my wallet may attack you next time I see you. 

This is an amp named 'The Tarts Handbag' and was built for me on the Isle of Man by Don Audio.  It's a genius little amp.  I wrote a good chunk of the first BDS album on this in my old bedroom at my folks place.  Come Home,  It'll All Come Around, Too Late and also Tear Down The Walls from the second record for sure were all written on this wee beastie.  It is also making an appearance on the next project. 

AnalogMan Sun Face Fuzz.  Just a magical fuzzbox. Think David Gilmours' solo on 'Time' .  Cracking pedal. 

This is one a few of you may recognize - 'Ellie'.   Ellie will be passed down in my family when I am dead and gone.  She is a truly special guitar, and the only one I have really named.  She was a gift from Paul Smith of Paul Reed Smith Guitars when he sat in with us one night.  I had a bit of a cry off stage later.  It was Pauls' personal guitar for a while.  It immediately became my #1 for a long time.   Paul played it again recently and said "I have to put it down,  the guitar knows it's not mine anymore".   

 I get nervous about flying with it - but it'll be back out on the road when we get back in the bus.  

This is a custom job from PRS that they built me - a single pickup McCarty.  One I pick up all the time,   and a load of riffs have come from this beastie.  Hasn't been played live all that much - but it shall.  Just a great guitar. 

This is a PRS amp of mine,  built by Doug Sewell.  Doug is a GENIUS amp builder and flat out one of the nicest souls you will ever meet.  I always have a good laugh when we meet up.   This is a cracking amp.



Other things I must mention,  but don't have pictures of...

Strymon Timeline delay - GET IT GET IT GET IT

ANYTHING by Moog - most notably the Cluster Flux and the Murf.  Great stuff

Roger Linn Adrena-Linn.  Great for hotel rooms and funky noises.


Thank you all for bearing with my nerdyness.  Special thanks go out to my fiance Amber,  who has to live with it.

See you all soon

Davy

Pleasantville And The Great Baggage Disaster Of 2012

I find myself on an aeroplane once again... 

I truly love traveling. The characters you get to meet, the places you get to see, the romantic notion of being completely nomadic for a while - hell,  I even enjoy flying.  

That is if you ever make it on the plane.  

The whole kerfuffle of getting on to the plane I do NOT enjoy.  The stress of the lines, the checking in, security, and that hot sweaty feeling as you run to your gate in blind panic only to find your flight is delayed, once, twice,  then canceled. Write a song about that, Lionel Richie. 

MORE panic.  MORE stress.

The unhelpful lady that tells you getting to the east coast is probably going to be impossible for two days. Thank you. Thank you very much unhelpful lady. You are just plain lovely.  A ray of sunshine in my already fabulous day. 

BUT THEN, A GLIMMER OF HOPE!  A flight to Newark.  More running,  more sweatiness.  Made it. Great. 

Seemingly helpful lady tells me my bags will follow me to Newark, all will be well and there is nothing to worry about.  "Sit back and enjoy your flight.  We know you have a choice in carriers, and we thank you for choosing United today".  I did not choose you, United.  I merely cannot AVOID you, living in Chicago. 

Seemingly helpful lady lied.  She lied very much. Arrive in Newark.  No bags.  And by bags I mean 3 guitars.  Shit. I have a show tomorrow afternoon.  File a  lost baggage claim.  They may come on a flight in the morning and will be delivered to my hotel.   Nothing else I can do tonight- after practically inhaling some late night diner food I finally close my eyes at 5 AM.  

No bags in the morning.  Panicked phone calls to friends in the NY area to borrow guitars/pedals etc for the gig. This is where I must say a HUGE thank you to my friends Kurt and Peter for letting me borrow some great gear. You guys rock and I love you very much. 

Another glimmer of hope. My bags have somehow turned up at White Plains airport (?!?!!!). 2 hours before the show.  Mad panic.  GOT THEM. Another mad panic to get back to the festival to do the show. 

Throughout all of my ranting I am constantly reminded of this TREMENDOUS video of the comedian Louis CK and his stance on air travel. 

Dead right. No matter how much stress involved, you truly are sitting in a seat flying through the air.  Sometimes even with an adult beverage in your hand. Stunning.   I have been lucky enough to have cruised at 35,000 feet over the beautiful desolation of  the northern Canadian territories with a stiff Gin and Tonic,  or over the incredible Australian outback with a nice Malbec.  True luxury indeed.

They say that hectic and stressful days make for a good gig.  True story. Felt GREAT to get all that frustration out on stage at the Pleasantville Music Festival.                               

                                                             Lovely festival people. 

It also felt marvelous to be sharing the stage with the mighty Grainger Brothers, Gary and Greg once again. Better musicians you will not meet,  and you will certainly not meet anyone nicer. I am getting a great musical education working with these guys. 

                                                       The mighty Gary Grainger 

I was also told that I am the only act to have been asked to play the festival 3 times. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. Such an honour.  It is a beautiful privilege,  and I have made some wonderful friends in that area as a result.

Much fun was had,  and suddenly all that stress seemed so distant and trivial. Music truly is a wonderful therapy. 

                                               The incredible Greg Grainger on drums behind me there. 

Special shout out to a man named Damien who bought me a beer at the festival. It was very much appreciated Damien - and was a very lovely beer indeed.  Many thank you's to you sir. 

Cheers

Davy