Normally when I go six weeks without bidding you hello, it's due mostly to the lack of anything happening to speak of, but it so happens that the last six weeks have been a mess of action and toothache. And whilst it was a little tempting to wait until after the final date of this final tour of 2011 was over - 11th Dec, Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading etc - I thought I'd fire some quick updates your way.
1. FLORIDA IS STILL A GREAT PLACE
I was there in the middle of October as part of my ongoing drive to make sure my long-suffering other half doesn't dump me on grounds of abandonment, and all I can say is holy crap, that place goes nuts for Hallowe'en. I ate lots of steak and sweets and had a lot of subs, and my first american Bud. Hint for beer fans: it tastes just like the English stuff.
2. MY GUITAR GOT FIXED
The magnificent Mick Johnson fixed the input on my poor abused beast whilst I was away, and I'm happy to announce it's going to at least make the end of the year. The hunt continues apace for a new one after this one spent 2011 largely finding numerous ways to fall apart, but this has held up well for now. In Oxford at the Port Mahon, at what I had failed to recognise as being a speakerless, all-acoustic show, Kurt Hamilton and I teamed up to play 'I Will Breathe You In' together in the same room for the first time ever, whilst I had a storming couple of shows with Kyle Evans of Dawn Chorus/RSP and Mynameisian in London and Portsmouth, with London somehow pulling off the first ever round-robin approach to 'Singalong' - the bar not so much raised, more suspended from the clouds. Other good mentions go to Dave Giles for letting me open the final (and sellout) date of his tour at the Borderline, and thanks also to the Crumblin' Cookie in Leicester (and Dan Wright) for allowing me to attempt to drink my toothache into oblivion.
3. TOOTHACHE
Yeah, it happened. I have been too busy to visit the dentist this year, which is an excuse which is frankly just that. Mind you, until recently I hadn't been to the doctors in more than two years, and the opticians has been a decade. Still, the dentist clearly missed me, because he has announced that we're going to be getting reacquainted. If anyone would like to undergo my root canal for me on the 7th and 21st December I'd be pretty grateful. If album two is called Fuck This or Sweet Jesus of Colgate you'll know why.
4. NEWSFELCH: A ROUNDUP
I have had the delight of talking to a few people recently, all of whom would like you to read about it and all of which are verifiable FACT:
And then some poor sap had to watch me actually play (thanks Karen)
Tomorrow I get to go to Swindon. Hopefully see you soon!
b. x
