The first in my brand new video blog series to celebrate my new album coming out on April 9th, woohoo! The album launch extravaganza will be at the Half Moon in Herne Hill, London SE24 on Wednesday 11th April with tickets available very soon.

“In This Boat” will be released on February 14th as digital download and homemade Valentine’s card – more on that next week – and I’ll be celebrating that at a very anti-Valentine’s night at Brixton Windmill supporting Hysterical Injury‘s “Dead Wolf Situation” album launch alongside Lilies On Mars AND that Saturday 18th at Underbelly in Hoxton supporting Birdeatsbaby‘s “Feast Of Hammers” album launch.

Full info and ticket links on the Gigs Page.

The album can be pre-ordered now via Bandcamp with two free songs to grab right now.

More soon, and in the meantime check out the individual projects of my awesome supergroup The Olympians:

The Hysterical Injury
Dana Jade
Adventure Club Records (Milly McGregor – violin)
Kat Arney – awesome harpist! – she blogged about the day too right here
Djevara – UB on boy vocals
Ed Christmas – DOP and general calm happy fella

The third free track is my cover of Tom Waits track “Hoist That Rag”, recorded for Adventure Club Records last weekend and starring my brand new Copperphone mic, lovingly handmade by Mark Pirro at Placid Audio. I’m going to be using it a lot live as well, it sounds fantastic and is quite the conversation starter because it also looks amazingly cool.

The Pledge Music release of “Little Battles” went online on Tuesday lunchtime which felt really great – seven months of updates is a lonnnnng timmmme and it’s good to have some closure, though I will still use the PM backstage area for occasional bits and pieces in the coming months. The #smwlittlebattles hashtag has been quite busy in the last few days – thank you everyone for sharing links and commenting, you’re the best!

Oh, then these came in the post today…..pretttttty:

#VLOMO11 started this week – that’s Video bLOgging MOnth for the uninitiated – and within the 30 videos I’ll be making to keep up with the crazy challenge there will be lots of musical shenanigans so keep an eye on my VLOMO playlist to see all the latest videos.

Here are the first two:

It feels good to be back in London making things after a week away trying to rest. I managed three whole days without switching on my laptop (which might not seem like a very long time, but is for me since everything I make and do apart from creating video props and stuff is computer based) and almost a week off Facebook and Twitter, though I did lurk a little bit. My hands and eyes definitely felt more relaxed when I started using the computer again and it was good to have a deep think about a few things including my use of social media generally. A blog post on the subject may form in my brain shortly.

I’m definitely going to try and schedule in more regular time away from the machines. The best thing about the Pledge Music Exclusives that I have to start making to fulfill all the orders is that most of them are analogue creations, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to that as soon as this hectic November is over. Not that I want it to be over, I’m excited about every single show that’s coming up but I think December should be a quiet time to end the year off nicely.

I’m rambling now because it’s late and I’m tired, but it feels good to be blogging so thanks for your patience

The main reason of course is because I have a loyal gang of Pledgers who have kindly pre-ordered the new record along with buying all sorts of other goodies via my Pledge Music project page. This page stays open until November 1st – the official deadline for the download – so whatever’s still on the list (video props, handmade tour photo books, CD packages and the like) is still available to buy and I will start posting available goodies out in September with everything else (including the new album on CD) due to hit your doormats by the end of November at the latest.

Part of the Pledge Music experience is sharing exclusive updates with the Pledgers hence me not blogging about it here much so far, but I do of course want to keep everyone else in the loop. This week I’ll be posting one short studio vBlog clip each day at lunchtime and today’s and Friday’s are both publicly accessible. Studio vBlog #5 introduces you to the mysterious new instrument I was tweeting about a few months ago.

WATCH IT HERE!

These short clips are just part of the footage I’m gathering along the way to make in to a longer “making the album” video for the DVD which will accompany the new record…so I’ve got lots of jobs to be getting on with as soon as the music is finished…

Speaking of which, after 14 studio days the album has pretty much taken shape. It crept up on me actually, one day we were making lists of songs and organising what instruments were going where and the next I was welcoming Chris TT, Anna Madeleine, Kat Arney and Milly McGregor in to sprinkle fairy dust on the tunes (in the shape of piano, keyboards, harp and violin respectively). I’ve really enjoyed hearing my songs taken to a different place by each person, egged on by me not to second guess what I might want them to play and to make sure whatever they contributed sounded utterly like them. I am only inviting people on to the record whose playing and personalities give me goosebumps so I’m over the moon it’s worked out so well so far.

What I’m finding really lovely is that this album is surprising me. The songs on my debut album “Disarm” were all complete when I took them to the studio – lyrics were written and the demos were pretty full sounding so it was just a case of changing some tempos, tightening up some words and adding extra guitar parts on top (oh, and re-recording everything through brilliant equipment with a magical wizard of a co-producer). This time I did have the album name (sssh it’s a secret!), most of the musical arrangements and song titles and a very clear sense of what each individual songs and the album as a whole are about BUT also had lots of space for guitar parts and very few actual singable words, so as it’s come together I’ve been able to be surprised and pleased at the unexpected twists and turns my song babies have made. Go song babies!

I got to try two of the new songs, “Exit Strategy” and “In This Boat” out at the Ben & Jerry’s Summer Sundae festivals in London and Manchester this weekend (supporting Ocean Colour Scene, Ash and Fun Loving Criminals – fancy!) and am really looking forward to recording vocals next week. This week is for finishing off all the music, welcoming a few more talented guests in to the studio and getting ready for my hula hoop workshops and acoustic performance at Hope & Social‘s Sleep Sound Garden Party in Leeds on Sunday – I’ll be playing on the Hammock Stage.

I’m hoping for more lush sunshine and ice cream collisions like this one from Manchester yesterday…mmmm…

More photos from recording can be found here.

A train tour visiting Tunbridge Wells, Bristol, Falmouth, Dartmouth and Oxford, supporting Midge Ure, Sick of Sarah and Little Fish and starring performances from Spring Offensive, Adam Barnes, Djevara Redux and George Chopping. And a STEAM TRAIN.

Photos from the tour are here.

Tickets are now available for a very special gig this September – I’m hosting and performing at a benefit show for Katie Huttlestone, a fantastic girl who is undergoing treatment for stage 3 breast cancer – at the age of 21. Katie has been sharing her story so far via informative and moving video blogs, and I’m honoured to be working alongside her to raise money for youth charities.

The gig will be held at The Corn Exchange in Hertford from 6pm on 10th September 2011, with a full lineup to be confirmed.

Tickets are £5 for under 14-17 year olds and £7 for 18s and over. GET YOUR TICKETS HERE.

You can “like” Katie on Facebook here and watch the rest of her vblogs right here.

LATEST LIVE VIDEOS
- Scared To Capsize
- A-Hole
- Eyepennies
- (Love) Like Liars

TOUR PHOTO GALLERY ON FLICKR

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London-Glasgow-Leeds – not the most sensible of routes perhaps, but this was quite a thrown-together mini tour. A few months ago my Glaswegian friend – photographer, promoter and generally very bright boy Peter Rooney – invited me to perform at his Hotwire Club night at the Flying Duck and I, always keen to make an adventure out of a simple gig request sorted out some shows around it [this was one of my main reasons for entering the Soundcloud competition].

My insistence on using public transport also helps with the numerous farflung trips I’ve been taking so far this year, a bus / train being at least modestly better for the environment than cars or planes, though I’m paying the price of lugging my heavy gear around with fatigue and achey shoulders. And I’m still not taking all the instruments I’d like, AND can’t even start contemplating bulky costumes of any kind.

Anyway, London first and the Soundcloud / Backstage Pass Cloud 9 award prize of a support slot for We//Are//Animal at the Bull & Gate, a venue I’d played before with all my old bands but never as SMW. I have lots of memories attached to that stage, good and bad, and hazy recollections of drunken mishaps in the bar area outside the gig room. As a teenager I drank Guinness and wore very high platform shoes…enough said.

I had a lovely time on stage, debuting my freshly re-blonded hair and new Ovation Applause ukulele – bought hastily after I accidentally killed my Stagg in Dunfermline the other week…it might get decorated and put for sale on the website soon so watch out! – both captured here by Ashley Jones (thanks again Ashley!):

Home to sleep, then up very early to get a train to Glasgae – a comfy treat after my recent slew of Megabuses but well worth it to avoid the twitchy legged irritability I suffered after the 10 hour overnight to Edinburgh in January. Peter met me at the station and whisked me off for a beautiful Japanese lunch at Nanakusa – a really authentically decked out oasis of calm in a busy city. It was a poignant visit – the tsunami had hit just the day before, and P and I were wrapped up in worry for our friends and colleagues in Japan. We actually met there in 2009 at the after party for Nano Mugen Festival at Yokohama Arena, after which I travelled around the country on my own for a week or so, so it was nice to quietly share some memories from that happier time as a small tribute.

A nice wander past beautiful art deco buildings led me towards soundcheck, then I nipped over to the other side of town to catch up with Simon Little, Twitter and real life bass friend, who was playing with Maggie Reilly at the Tron Theatre. I got to see most of the show before having to dash back to the club to get changed and was very impressed, especially with the crazy sound coming from Simon’s lovely electric double bass (sadly not pictured here):

Some time after midnight (shortly after doing my makeup in the loos, trying my hardest to ignore the sounds coming from one of the cubicles where a group of girls were encouraging their friend to make space for more alcohol – gross) I took to the circular stage and was charmed and slightly freaked out when I noticed two people were singing along, word perfect, to every single song. That’s NEVER happened before! After the show I managed to meet the pair – Midge Ure fans who had driven all the way from Dunfermline to Glasgow for the occasion after seeing me open up at Carnegie Hall last month. Massive thanks for the support, guys, that means a lot.

Other highlights of the night included Underground Railroad’s set – brilliant earthy, grungey, moody, thrashy rock – chatting to Parisian DJ Liza Pop, discovering lots of facts about the Glasweigan graphic artist / novellist scene and drinking a much needed cup of tea at 4.45am just before bed.

I was sad to leave Glasgow the next day but happy to be headed back to Leeds, one of my favourite UK cities mainly due to the people I know who live there. One of them, singer/songwriter/guitarist/drummer Gary Stewart, had sorted me out a slot back at Sandinista supporting his bandmate’s duo The Spirit of John, a wonderful broken down sounding anti-folky double bass guitar / vocals outfit who have to hurry up and record an album so I can buy it and tell everyone else I know to buy it.

My on-tour dinner of two hot ciders and a hit of Roni Size over the bar’s sound system perfectly prepared me for my set, during which I serenaded a rapt toddler who actually joined in at the end of Scared To Capsize. Good girl!

On Monday I felt pretty honoured to get to spend the day at The Crypt – Hope and Social’s permanent rehearsal / recording space under a church in a village outside Leeds. The boys are working on songs for their new album and it was lovely to witness the magic happening up close and do my best to capture some of it on video. There’s something truly beautiful about a really really good band, and I left feeling 1) slightly jealous that I’ve never had one that felt so close and so natural, and 2) very inspired to get on with making my new tunes a reality.

Next stop was Gaslight Club at Oporto Bar, Gary’s excellent regular Monday night gig. I first played there in December 2010 and had a great time so it was lovely to return after having got to know people a bit better. It’s a great sounding room and Gary’s done a lot of work to build up a good buzzy crowd every week so I had a fab night and was pleased to get to see him play again – such wonderful guitar noises! A song about his new niece was especially touching and I’m looking forward to hearing his new album when it’s done. Here’s the gorgeous “Behind The Door” featuring Ellen Smith from Ellen & The Escapades, another ace Leeds band:

And so another #wartour drew to a close, a little too soon for my liking but timely considering that halfway back to London on the Megabus a fresh bout of the fluey lurgy was already attacking my system. Still, a few days of menthol sweets later I’m feeling much better and already planning my next sojourn for the end of April – supporting Midge Ure for three dates and Sick of Sarah for one plus stopping off in Exeter / thereabouts and Oxford on my way back from the West Country, testing out some new songs before (hopefully) heading back to the studio in May to record album #2. Keep checking the Live page for more info on the shows – see you then?

A-HOLE – BULL & GATE 11.3.11

EYEPENNIES (A SPARKLEHORSE COVER) – BULL & GATE 11.3.11

SCARED TO CAPSIZE – BULL & GATE 11.3.11

(LOVE) LIKE LIARS – GASLIGHT @ OPORTO, LEEDS, 14.3.11

Phew – I’ve just got back from a whirlwind trip to Scotland to support the magnificent Midge Ure at Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline on Monday night. I am exhausted but happy – I had a brilliant time.

Click here for the Flickr set.

After spending the day at Unconvention at the Roundhouse on Saturday, taking part in Andrew Dubber‘s panel “Outside The Box” [separate blog post to follow], I took the overnight Megabus and spent a glorious sunshiney Sunday wandering around Edinburgh in a sleep deprived haze before playing a few tunes at William Douglas’ Spark! Creativity Showcase at The Jazz Bar then moving on to do the same at Roberta Pia‘s open mic at Elbow Bar.

On Monday I headed out to Burntisland to visit my friend and fellow musician Clutch Daisy, who kindly drove me to Dunfermline for the show. One of the highlights of the whole trip was the walk we took along Burntisland beach – it’s so beautiful up there.

Carnegie Hall is probably the grandest place I’ve performed my solo songs, and it was great to meet Midge at soundcheck and geek out over the Boss RC20XL (he has one too). The show went well and his audience seemed to like me, though the best comment of the night has been captured in the second vBlog below…watch to the end…

Big thanks to Midge, Dave and the rest of the team for welcoming me on Monday and for inviting me to join them again for three dates in April – 27th at Trinity Arts Centre in Tunbridge Wells, 29th at Princess Pavilions in Falmouth and 30th at The Flavel in Dartmouth. Check out my Live page for ticket links and I look forward to meeting more of Midge’s fans after the shows. I’ll be planning more #wartour shenanigans around these gigs so let me know if you want me to stop by!

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON: Bookpirate‘s kind offer of two days rest and reflection at his house in S-u-A towards the end of the tour was gratefully accepted and was the perfect pause to catch up on the Oxford and Cambridge video blogs, work on some new lyrics and play my first official kitchen gig. I had fun with Ben’s extensive hat collection too…

Add to all that wonderful conversations, my first taste of sloe gin (YUM) and two great nights’ sleep and you can see why I was sorry I had to leave in the black icy chill of Thursday morning.

However, I had a good place to get to. A few months ago Lee Pellington invited me to Leicester Music College to present a lecture to students on Portfolio Working and we’ve kept in touch since. When I announced the Winter War Tour Lee offered me a day of recording with some of his sound engineer students and a slot at the college’s end of term show.

LEICESTER: And so yesterday was spent recording a special acoustic version of ghostsandshadows and vocals for a secret Christmas cover that I’m putting together with Ben Walker. Oh yes, Christmas present plans are afoot and it’s high time you joined the mailing list and/or bought yourself a copy of the album so you get in on the action.

The gig last night was wonderful, too. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my small scale gigs on this tour, appreciating the intimacy and level of connection and vowing to avoid putting myself in situations which are any different, but I think the combination of Christmas cheer and interest in musical geekery in the packed theatre last night contributed to the very warm welcome I received. Massive thanks to all, especially Izzie, Rich and Ant for recording yesterday and to Lee for the invite.

Ant’s photos from the recording session were posted on the Noisemonkeez studio blog in three parts: 1, 2 and 3, and here’s the final installment of the War Tour vBlogs:

Massive thanks and appreciation to everyone who helped me on my way this month: if you put me up in spare rooms and on sofas, fed me, hung out, took photos, filmed stuff, listened to the tunes, bought CDs, offered words of encouragement via Twitter and Facebook, watched a vBlog episode, looked through the tour pics, retweeted something or just smiled when you saw what I was getting up to then THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I had a wonderful few weeks and am already planning my next jaunt, so if you think I need to play in your town / local venue / kitchen tell me and I will do my best to make that happen.

And….SLEEP!