Beware! The Leopard

Thoughts on London from a musician's point of view

Well I'm standing in an almost empty piano shop on Denmark St.  My job.  I'm being serenaded by our resident drunkard at 10:50 in the morning on one of our most expensive pianos, and I'm trying to decide when will be the appropriate time to throw him out without getting an earful of expletives.  As I listen to his flopping about on the fake ivories, I'm drawn to a question asked by a friend via email.  What do I think of London?  She's thinking of making a move herself and wants my impressions.  Now doubtless to say that at this exact moment in time, I'm probably not in the right state of mind to give a most accurate impression, but I will do my best.

I have lived here for 10 months now.  I've spent a winter, and a summer here; I've been drunk at 3 in the morning in divey bars and hot nightclubs; I've spent small fortunes on poor meals and a pittance on some fantastic grub; I've won and lost on the horses and dogs; and I've seen Shakespeare and visited the British Museum.  In other words, I've tasted a lot of what London has to offer.  So maybe I am qualified to offer a relevant opinion. 

London is a city of contradictions.  It is enormous while at the same time feeling like you could walk its length in a half-hour.  It is atrociously expensive, my partner and I pay more for a tiny studio flat -- that's right, one room with a kitchen -- then we did for a three-bedroom townhouse in Ottawa, while at the same time earning about 1/4 of the wage.  Finding low paying jobs is as easy as walking down the street, but finding a decent salary could take many months.

In my opinion, London is the most cosmopolitan city in the world.  People of all ethnicities and backgrounds are melded into one.  They live side by side, and it's not surprising to see a woman in a Burkha with a mobile taped to her head yelling "you wanker, you were supposed to bring it innit". There is always stuff to see and do, whether they are gigs at Wembley Arena or the Roundhouse, plays and musicals, or just quiz night at the local.  London is a city that never sleeps.  It quiets down between 3 and -5 in the morning but not a whole lot. 

It is also really easy to reach loads of places from London.  Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford, and a whole host of other English places are short train journey away.  All of continental Europe is at your doorstep as well, and even with XL going under, there's plenty of budget airlines to take you to exciting destinations.

On the other hand, London is one of the most unfriendly places I have ever lived.  It is extremely difficult to make friends here.  I've made a few, mostly foreigners or co-workers, and many of those I had before I arrived here.  I don't know what it is about this city, but most people keep to themselves. I got into a verbal argument with a guy who hit his girlfriend in a tube station a few months back, and a whole train load of people walked right past without giving us a second glance.  Nobody speaks to each other on the train, in the cafe, or even having a cigarette (which is really bizarre for me).  There's no comraderie, and I can easily imagine that by oneself it could be a very lonely place.

From a musical perspective, London is an exciting city to be in.  There are always fantastic local acts to see, and there are a ton of venues catering to original music.  Back home, there were always places to play if you were a good cover band, but there were just a few places that wanted you if you had a few original tunes under your belt. 

All in all, it is one big bizarre city and while I do not regret coming here for even one second, I don't think it is a place that I will ever properly call "home". 

First night at the Flask

So I had a successful first set at the Flask last night.  It's a quiet pub in Hampstead right by the tube station with traditional English pub decor, wooden seats, wooden tables, lots of lamps and surly barmen who manage a smile when you buy them a pint. 

The Wednesday open mic is run by a great bloke named Iain, and he started off the evening with a few originals and great cover of Tom Petty's "Free Falling".  The evening swiftly moved on and soon it was my turn.  I played four tunes, starting with Ben Harper's "Another Lonely Day", and moving into originals "Big House", "Escalator Ballet", and "White Coated Wolves".  The set was a success, although I did learn not to start with that specific cover.  It's not necessarily vocally difficult, but until my voice is warmed up enough I tend to sing it in a monotonous kind of way.  I think it made people sit up and listen when I then sang "Big House" a capella which is more vocally dynamic, but in the future I won't start with that cover.

Another success was a new pickup I bought for my guitar.  Given that I can't afford the electro-acoustic that I want, I picked up a Fishman Neo-D pickup for £30 with my staff discount, and it worked perfectly.  It's a very mid-heavy pickup which rounds out the sound of my Seagull very nicely.  I'm also happy with it because it means that I will be able to use my acoustic in conjunction with my looper at future open mics, where bringing a guitar amplifier is frowned upon.

Anyways, I did record last night's session.  I haven't had time to listen to it yet, but hopefully it turned out ok so that I can post something.

The rant of a blocked artist

Can't write.  Can't put together a lyric that doesn't sound like it was written by Danielle Steele.  "Oh baby my heart is broken."  "I've lost what I've found."  "My dog died and I had to bury him with my pickup truck". 

Ok, so maybe it's not that bad, however, when you are trying to write lyrics and they just don't want to come it is a painful experience.  I think it is kind of like when you know you have to sneeze but your body won't respond and the itch drives you so crazy you want to stick a garden rake up your nostril to get it to stop.  Wanting to write meaningful lyrics, or poetry even, is like that.  There are lots of reasons why I am having trouble.  But here are the top three. 

1.  I listen to too much Hawksley Workman.   When you listen to a lyrical genius, it makes all your stuff pale in comparison.  I mean  "Hang-on paper shoes, where do you think it's going now that it is starting to rain?"  how am I supposed to top that?  I keep looking at songwriting as a competition, one that I'm woefully unprepared for.  I don't practice enough, particularly the lyrical side of things.  It is one thing I need to work on to grow as an artist.  But really I need to stop thinking of songwriting as a competition.  I feel that I need to be as good as the artists I admire, because even some of them struggle to make it in the real world as a musician.  So I worry that if I'm not as "good", then I won't ever be able to make it by myself, even though music is wholly subjective and there are plenty of fans for everyone.

2.  I focus too much on rhyming.  I don't intend to do it, but whenever I write one line, I almost always have it rhyme with something later on in the verse, this usually leads to the cheesy/stupid lines that occupy most of my time before being transformed into something better.  For example, when I  think of "sitting there under the tree" the next line that automagically comes to me is "waiting around to have a pee".  See stupid and childish.  I suppose it could be "hoping you and your friend and I could make three", or "staring at the sun with a fistful of glee".  You get the picture?  I've been getting better at my rhyming dependency, but it is bloody hard, and even harder when you're blocked.

3.  Pressure.  I don't know why, but my best stuff comes to me when I'm not even thinking about it.  I just pick up the guitar, or sit at the piano and it comes to me without really thinking about it.  Frequently I can write a whole song in a half-hour.  But when I have the time, like I did today to actually sit and work some good songs out, my brain shits the bed and decides now's the time to watch Mission Impossible III for the third or fourth time (my god that movie sucked).  It's not even like I have a real deadline or anything.  On Wednesday I'm playing at an open Mic in Hampstead, but other than that I have almost a month before I really need to have a tight 30min set together, so there's no need to feel this pressure, but like that sneeze that won't come out, I've been smooshing my nose up and trying to spit out something resembling a song today and it isn't working. 

Hey readers, what do you do when you want to do something, write a story, paint a picture, go to the gym, but your brain/body just doesn't respond?  Do you have any tricks to kick start it into gear?  If so, I'd be so happy to hear them.

Great Videos

So I was ill last night and didn't make it to the Flask, which was disappointing. 

But instead here's a video from Hawksley's Los Manilicious tour.  This is a great series.

Tonight at the Flask

For those who care I will be playing at the Flask in Hampstead Heath as part of their open mic tonight. 

I'll be on for a short set at 8:45. 

I'm starting to get the hang of this performing bit.  Now I just need to get some proper gigs!

Beware! The Leopard Live!

So if you haven't noticed, you can now look at the top of the right-hand column to get all the latest info on shows where I'll be playing live.  The most exciting thing so far is the headline set I will be doing at the Phoenix to end the open mic on October 12th.  It's good because instead of 10-15 minutes, I get a full half-hour to play some tunes, and I guarantee that I will have some tricks up my sleeve.

I am also playing this coming Wednesday at the Flask in Hampstead.  Come on by if you can.

To give you a taste, here was a performance of White-Coated Wolves at last week's jam at the River Bar.

Download live.mp3

Photo by D. Maheu

New Final Fantasy

I've been following a few more blogs now that I understand the value of Google Reader, and this post from Lostinyourinbox, caught my eye.  Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy, is back on the march with some new tunes, and I was suitably impressed by the tune linked in this post.  I'm not sure if the new album will measure up to his previous works, but given that his show at the Forum was suitably impressive, it is worth mentioning that you should look out for his new work on September 30th.

Secrets of the open mic

Do not, I repeat, do not go first. 

This is the big trick of the open mic, and the difference between open mics and other kinds of shows.  When one goes to a show, you are prepared for a listening experience.  When you go to an open mic, there is a big chance that the pub/bar/club will be filled with people who are just there to drink and make merry.  This means that the performer, particularly the person opening, has to capture the audience's attention. 

On Sunday I hit up the Phoenix again.  This time was very different from the last.  Instead of being in the middle of the pack, I kicked things off, and I quickly realized that I have to have some catchy way of getting the audience's attention, short of stripping naked and playing my guitar with an appendage not my finger.  By the end of my 15 minute set, I think I had at least got some of the audience to pay attention, but it was a far cry from last week when I had the audience's attention from the get go because others had primed them for listening to a performance.

So anyways, this is a plea to all of those out there with showmanship in their blood.  Any ideas on getting the attention of audience members?

Bands to Watch: Dirty on Purpose

Dirty on Purpose

What can you really say about a band that does an awesome shoegaze/dance cover of Send me an Angel (originally by Real Life)?  That they are catchy and awesome, that's what. 

This Brooklyn based foursome (what's with all these good Brooklyn bands lately?), meld all sorts of styles from New Wave to Shoegaze in the blink of an eye, all set to catchy dance beats that would easily become dancefloor anthems if I was a top DJ. They also have some hilarious videos on youtube.  But really, these are just some good grooves to tap your toe to while making dinner, or to pop in the car cassette deck on a long road trip. 

They are currently touring North America with The Wedding Present, check them out when you can.

The Dreaded G.A.S.

No, not the stuff that comes out your arse, or the stuff the kills you silently in the sleep (aren't they the same thing?), but Gear Acquisition Syndrome.  This is a serious affliction suffered by most musicians and wannabe musicians, and children.  It's very similar to the feeling of flipping through the Consumer's Distributing (or Argos) catelogue as a child, and circling the toys which I wanted to get for Christmas.  This time though, the toys are about 100 times the price. 

I'm in the process of selling my bass cabinet so that I can purchase an RC-50 loop station.  This is something that I think will add an extra dimension to my live show, and hopefully let me have the complexity I want to bring to my sound without needing the extra musicians that I don't want to have to spend the time training. 

Next up on the list is Nord Electro 2.  I would prefer the Stage 88 (for the weighted keys), but the £1000 difference in price is a little too much even for me.  So I need to fix my P120, one of the keys is causing some distortion, and then sell it off with the case, and hopefully get 3/4 of what I need for the Nord.  The reason for the switch is because the Nord has better electric piano sounds, as well as being much lighter and more portable, which is perfect for the gigging musician that I am slowly becoming.

Now the reason for this post, I fell in love with an acoustic guitar today.  It's the first time I've ever had that happen with an acoustic.  Normally it's electrics, or synths, or pianos.  But I picked up a 25th Anniversary edition Seagull Acoustic which retails for £799, but with my employee discount I could get it for almost half-price.  The only problem is my own Seagull which has been a dedicated friend for 14 years is not worth much anymore.  Plud I'd be sad to part with something that holds so many memories.  So what is one to do?  Save and wait I guess.  This is the problem with G.A.S.  it is insatiable and leads you to write crazy posts about gear that you want. 

Yes, for those of you reading that know me, this is a plea to remember my 30th birtdhay, no present is as good as one that curious serious illness. 

:-)