Way back in time, I used to sell Pianos. I sold quite a lot of this model, but I never actually owned a real piano of my own… I always spent my money on synths, guitars, and other technology. My Roland Digital Piano has served well enough, but there’s no substitute for the real thing to practise on.
Although it should be worth far more at its young age, this one was up for sale for less a £1000. Since it needed to be moved within 36 hours and there were no buyers, it was “free to collect”. That’s just nuts. The seller will be getting a website in exchange. Fair is fair.
Currently I’m out on tour with The Australian Pink Floyd Show, for the first part of the spring tour of Switzerland and France. We’re having a great time, with really good audiences packing out the venues and loving the set.
Today as I write, I’m packing up to jump on the tour bus tonight for the journey from Paris to Grenoble. I’m looking forward to the next few gigs having got back into the swing of performing so fast I didn’t notice I’d ever had a break.
Here are some photos, not that I can capture many, but some people have generously donated!
For full tour details of The Australian Pink Floyd Show, please visit AUSSIEFLOYD.COM
I’ve wanted to record this song for a long time because I not only adore the band but this was the tune that started the love.
The lyrics are just SO appropriate right now that I had to complete it in double-quick time and share it. It’s a very different take on the original by Barclay James Harvest, but it has so far been well received by other BJH fans.
If you enjoy this track, and would like a FREE download, please send a request using the contact form at the bottom of the page.
Meanwhile, I’m off to work on a collection of new tunes to be released (hopefully) later in the year, now the distractions of live performance and other work are less of a problem.
After a long and wisely advised rest, I’ve spent the past three weeks re-training my voice. The results are encouraging, and to be honest quite surprising, because some things that were a train before the problem arose, let alone before the rest, are now comfortable.
I was so happy with how it’s worked out that I picked up the guitar again, and once the blisters resulting from not playing for a year has healed, I was able to record some of the Pink Floyd repertoire I used to perform when leading “Us… Not Them”.
Here are a couple of favourites, Lead Guitar and Vocals by myself, the remainder of the arrangements courtesy of Gilmourish.com
As a performer with over six hours of material ready to perform regularly in three or four different bands, it would be madness to attempt to rehearse and perform with three different rigs every week… so there’s only one solution.
For a while now, I’ve relied on Apple Mainstage with Studiologic controller keyboards and various software synthesisers to provide a totally flexible keyboard rig for multiple different bands.
Mainstage provides the control of layouts and assigns the sounds to the keyboard controllers – but from where do those classic sounds come?
The answer is most often an Arturia V Collection instrument.
I’m honoured this week to join other Arturia Artists such as Steve Porcaro, Jordan Rudess, Herbie Hancock and Jean-Michel Jarre in offically endorsing Arturia products.
The new V Collection 7 provides me with authentic software emulations of just about every classic keyboard ever used in rock, prog and pop for the past 60 years. Everything from a Vox Continental Organ to a Yamaha DX7 synth, from a Mellotron to a Farilight CMI, from an EMS Synthi to a Sequential Prophet 5 – with Pianos, Electric Pianos, and Clavinet included.
A new project is taking shape, and we’ve recently had a photoshoot ready for a press release. Work on a first album is well under way, with recording taking place over the next couple of months.
The aim is to have it all recorded by the end of June 2019, and ready to be performed live before the end of 2019.
What with The Reasoning’s Re-Awakening gigs in September, and being busy with UK Pink Floyd Experience and DS:UK, this will be a very exciting year.
Eagle-eyed readers of my website and/or posts will notice that some extra gigs have popped up all of a sudden.
Well, the news is that I’ll be working on a few gigs with Dire Straits : UK during 2019, which is a very welcome return to playing the great songs of Mark Knopfler and Alan Clark.
With only a few weeks of the new year to get ready for the first gig on 9th February, I enjoyed watching (and taking copious notes at) the first DS:UK show of the year, at my local theatre, The Hazlitt in Maidstone. Great fun!
… and that’s not all. To add to the year’s fun, I’ve taken on some gigs with The UK Pink Floyd Experience as well. Startin in March, there will be a whole load of these throughout 2019, and it’ll be a very rewarding way to return to performing the great music of Pink Floyd.
Of course, there will be some music new to me – it’s an enormous repertoire – but most will be familiar as something I’ve either performed on Keyboards or Guitar in a previous Floyd tribute.
So, roll on 16th March, this is going to be exciting!
Not done yet… the new year brought some upsetting news from Ghost Community, as keyboards player Martin Howells has a painful and temporarily crippling problem with his right hand, meaning he can’t complete work on the new GC album.”Viking Disease” is a little knwon complaint that contracts the fingers making it difficult to extend them, hold things reliably, and many other problems. Let’s hope Martin can get the treatment he needs and be back with Ghost Community soon.
I’m flattered and thrilled to be called back in to work on keyboard parts and fulfil promotional gigs for the band until Martin is well enough to return to playing.
So that’s three new musical projects for 2019, and we’re only two weeks in. Gulp.
Of course, there’s another one looming as well…
We’ve now set rehearsal dates for The Reasoning to get together and work on the set for the Re-Awakening gigs in September of this year.
This isa very inspiring thing to be involved with. The Reasoning fell at a time when non-one was ready for it to happen, so the opportunity to perform proper farewell gigs in 2019, albeit serveral years too late, and to allow the fans to experience the music in a live setting again, is magical.
Tickets for the shows in Cardiff, London, and Bilston are all one sale. Find links to all three on The Reasoning website and please buy early!
Following its untimely and sudden ending in 2015, The Reasoning has been inactive and effectively disbanded, until the announcement in July 2018 of the Re-Awakening tour, which will take place in September 2019.
There will be three performances at favourite venues across the UK.
The announcement was made via Prog Magazine and LouderSound.com with dates and full band line-up to be confirmed shortly. Founder member Matt Cohen will be joined by previous band-mates Keith Hawkins, Jake Bradford-Sharp, and Robert Gerrard, with other new members to be announced.
Exciting news, this. I’m very pleased to be able to announce that I am now an endorsing Artist for both ROLI and Studiologic.
I’ve been massively impressed by the quality of Studiologic products, and now use a pair of SL88 controllers as the mainstay of my live performance keyboard rig for Ghost Community. I’ll shortly be adding to the collection of Studiologic instruments, awaiting delivery of a Numa 2 Organ as well as a full set of accessories.
The ROLI Seaboard (Specifically the RISE49)has been a little object of desire for some time. The supreme expressiveness that becomes possible through this remarkable new style of keyboard is quite unique.
I can’t wait to get out and perform the new Ghost Community album with it, once I’ve fully mastered a new set of techniques – not to mention getting used to the sensation of compressible keys. It’s quite something.
