THE last few weeks have been hugely busy and tremendously successful. The first BoHo Scarecrow Tea Party is going ahead this Saturday and tomorrow I return to Powers Bar in Kilburn to play a show. Last time around, I had a great gig there. So much has happened since then, I am a different man.
The contract came through for playing the Camden Head today on April 7th, so I am booked up.
I have also set up BoHo Scarecrow Media a film production and social networking project, that delivers hyperlocal video content filmed in full HD to location based services. We have also now produced two films and there are several projects in the works.
One of these involves The Who and is tied into the 2010 Who Convention, which I have started organising having been Master of Ceremonies at the 2006 event, which had appearances from Roger Daltrey, Simon Townshend, Bruce Foxton, Irish Jack Lyons and unforgettably – Keith Moon's mum. We raised £7,000 at the last event for the Teenage Cancer Trust. I want this year's event to raise £17,000 for the TCT and also the trust set up for Meg Fox's family to cope with the terrible medical bills that they were left with.
Its got me absolutely flat on the floor at the moment, but its paying off. We are aiming for the last weekend in September, with two events running simultaneously next door in Kilburn on the Friday (at the Good Ship and the Luminaire), featuring the ultimate, most authentic Mod club possible. The main event on the Saturday will be at a major venue in London with some rather famous names on the bill.
Having searched my soul and originally deciding not to play it, I had a lot of people asking me to and have decided in true Townshendian ambitious style to debut The Light Gate: An Opera there with a full band and film projections.
Organising this event has also introduced me to a number of Who associates, including Doug Sandom, who was the band's original drummer. Doug bought me a few brandies last Friday in Ruislip, and I put an idea to him about filming an interview. He was up for it, and I am now working on doing a whole series of interviews to put them together for a film to sell on DVD at the Convention. It will also feature myself in the pub with Keith Moon. Trust me on this, wait and see.
I am hoping that we might get a film from Pete Townshend too, to include. It will be BoHo Scarecrow Media's most exciting and ambitious project to date. Entirely feasible. Will hopefully raise some good money for charity and I will have a blast making it.
I'm particularly proud that in the day job this month I have closed three deals, which is the best start to a year that I've ever had. It is surreal to live this double life but increasingly, I am feeling rewarded. A great love of mine had this amazing ability to get on and do things. To refuse pontification. A remarkable woman, she managed to book seven dates for my first US tour for me as an unknown. Like all inspiration, you have to grab it when it comes and that's what I am doing. I have turned away from the headfucks, I have my head down and pushing like hell.
So, hugely busy. Excited like hell. Aware that I have to keep on going, that I will persevere and as my friend Meg Fox used to tell me I would one day do, make something great.
Your friend,
The BoHo Scarecrow
P.S. As part of my bouncing back from multiple heartbreak oblivion, I have developed the ultimate chat up line. Amazingly, this has had a 5 out of 7 success rate. I demonstrated it to a random that I met last night down my local, in front of her husband and with his permission, I might add (the MoJo was not loaded). She gave it mixed reviews. Turned out that it was Lisa Stansfield. Had no idea. Nice lady. They have lovely dogs.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
What's Your Poison? (Scratch Lyrics)
I started writing this on my mobile a couple of days ago. Yes, even BoHo Scarecrows have mobile phones, mine doesn't even have a cable to plug into BT!
These are just scratch lyrics. Early starting point. Its about addiction and self-obsession. There's a bit of these in all of us, I figure. I deliberately chose to take an insular line on the profile of each protagonist.
I'm not going to write anything more now. I'm too tired. I need to sleep. I've been writing quite a bit, including a short story about honesty as the defence of the dishonest. Its made me dig quite deep. Graves. Bah!
Your friend,
The BoHo Scarecrow
What's Your Poison?
She works at home in the death of the night,
driven by the fear of her fading light,
there's no threat of delay,
or husband to fight,
Praying she can tick a box,
Or find a plot,
that'll make everything right.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
He sits by the side,
of the public bar rail,
washing away his pain,
with London Pride Ale,
He'd retrace his steps,
to when he first so gingerly crept,
but he's too drunk to find the trail.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
They could be hiding together,
on the municipal park bench,
savoring the lost seconds,
of other lives they'd spent,
And on another day,
these moments,
they could've passed away,
but in themselves they're addicted,
And instead they're separately entrenched.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
She sits and talks to Mary Jane,
safe and hidden from the north western rain,
Laying down the tracks,
oblivious to the oncoming trains,
Dreaming of lost loves,
and the brief touch of fame,
until they are both one, both the same.
What's your poison?
Whether its in the heart,
or in your head,
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
Got to find a way to restart,
or soon you'll be dead.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
Whether its in the heart,
or in your head,
What's your poison?
These are just scratch lyrics. Early starting point. Its about addiction and self-obsession. There's a bit of these in all of us, I figure. I deliberately chose to take an insular line on the profile of each protagonist.
I'm not going to write anything more now. I'm too tired. I need to sleep. I've been writing quite a bit, including a short story about honesty as the defence of the dishonest. Its made me dig quite deep. Graves. Bah!
Your friend,
The BoHo Scarecrow
What's Your Poison?
She works at home in the death of the night,
driven by the fear of her fading light,
there's no threat of delay,
or husband to fight,
Praying she can tick a box,
Or find a plot,
that'll make everything right.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
He sits by the side,
of the public bar rail,
washing away his pain,
with London Pride Ale,
He'd retrace his steps,
to when he first so gingerly crept,
but he's too drunk to find the trail.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
They could be hiding together,
on the municipal park bench,
savoring the lost seconds,
of other lives they'd spent,
And on another day,
these moments,
they could've passed away,
but in themselves they're addicted,
And instead they're separately entrenched.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
She sits and talks to Mary Jane,
safe and hidden from the north western rain,
Laying down the tracks,
oblivious to the oncoming trains,
Dreaming of lost loves,
and the brief touch of fame,
until they are both one, both the same.
What's your poison?
Whether its in the heart,
or in your head,
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
Got to find a way to restart,
or soon you'll be dead.
What's your poison?
What's your poison?
Whether its in the heart,
or in your head,
What's your poison?
Thursday, 11 February 2010
The Only Ones Who Can Really Hurt Us (Are The Ones We Truly Love)
I've been writing. I've been busy. Shortly after the last post I went to ground for a while. Then came something of a moment of inspiration and now I'm in the middle of a maelstrom of meetings and emails about a fundraiser for the end of 2010.
In the meantime, I've started working on some new tunes. I played one of them, "In The Eyes Of The Storm" to close my gig at Phibbers earlier this week. It was tremendous. I sung it for the first time at the soundcheck. Literally. Then closed the set with it, and my God, it all came flooding back. Love runs deep.
Something prompted me on Sunday to think about how the ones that we truly love are the only ones who can really hurt us. So, I had a hook. Then something else triggered the rest of the words this evening. And now we have a song, here are the lyrics:
The only ones who can hurt us (Are the ones we truly love)
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
or whether you can ask,
“did I try enough?”,
We lose friends and lovers,
like reeds swept away in the flood,
because in a single word,
they leave us in mud.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
Because they stand by us,
when push comes to shove,
then fall from our grasp,
to comeback wearing gloves.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
We tear down walls
to let them into our hearts,
only to find their editing pen,
has deleted our part.
But it doesn't matter
if they turn us to stone,
they remain even once,
they have flown.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
Some crave beauty,
wealth and fame,
But I'll keep their love,
and its ice and pain.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
You can't hurt me no more,
no one can hurt me no more,
won't let you hurt me no more,
no one's gonna hurt me no more.
The only ones who can hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
The only ones who can hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
In the meantime, I've started working on some new tunes. I played one of them, "In The Eyes Of The Storm" to close my gig at Phibbers earlier this week. It was tremendous. I sung it for the first time at the soundcheck. Literally. Then closed the set with it, and my God, it all came flooding back. Love runs deep.
Something prompted me on Sunday to think about how the ones that we truly love are the only ones who can really hurt us. So, I had a hook. Then something else triggered the rest of the words this evening. And now we have a song, here are the lyrics:
The only ones who can hurt us (Are the ones we truly love)
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
or whether you can ask,
“did I try enough?”,
We lose friends and lovers,
like reeds swept away in the flood,
because in a single word,
they leave us in mud.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
Because they stand by us,
when push comes to shove,
then fall from our grasp,
to comeback wearing gloves.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
We tear down walls
to let them into our hearts,
only to find their editing pen,
has deleted our part.
But it doesn't matter
if they turn us to stone,
they remain even once,
they have flown.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
Some crave beauty,
wealth and fame,
But I'll keep their love,
and its ice and pain.
It isn't about money, guns or blood,
The only ones who can really hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
You can't hurt me no more,
no one can hurt me no more,
won't let you hurt me no more,
no one's gonna hurt me no more.
The only ones who can hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
The only ones who can hurt us,
are the ones we truly love.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Escapades In Brixton With The BoHo Scarecrow
THE BOHO SCARECROW now has a splendid new movie camera capable of shooting in Full HD.
I headed down to the indoor market today at Brixton Village for the Spacemakers event to film the day. Everything was very new in terms of familiarity with the equipment but the progression in the DV technology is remarkable. Even mid-range cameras have a huge amount of cleverly minaturised technology packed into their neatly designed bodies.
I enjoy filming immensely. This type of job isn't the kind that you can plan in too much detail for because things change quickly and all you really need are one or two random subjects to crop up to get on camera, and you're streets ahead straight off.
For those of you interested, I will be editing through next week and should have the first of the three scheduled versions put together by the end of next weekend.
On the tube ride home I had a moment to think about what comes next. Its been years since I finished my film degree at Canterbury. I simply haven't had the technology at my disposal since then, because I've spent the money on recording studios, guitars, amplifiers and capos.*
I am already thinking about bigger projects. Particularly my own music projects. We have converged in the digital space, musicians and film makers, that is. I can do both, and its a little like a bomb going off with all these projects that I've wanted to do for years suddenly being tangible.
Its quite simple. Ken Russell. Here is a man who has had budgets ranging from a few coppers to the biggest of all time (circa 1974.). All the man ever needed was a camera and the rest comes together. Ofcourse, people either love or hate Ken, but Michael Powell did the same. Film is balance between content and apparatus. Content is generated within the constraints of one's budget, but the budgetary constraint actually can be a blessing. You just need to be more inventive.
As for sound, you should ALWAYS overdub dialogue in narrative film. If you can't afford a boom or even a simpler arrangement, then you can go for overdubs or non-diagetic sounds. I am a fan of non-diagetic sound. Film is not reality, it is a projection. Quite literally, ofcourse.
So, film is where I am taking The BoHo Scarecrow project. It was always part of the DNA of how things would develop. Still early days and the learning curve is steep, but expect some boho brilliance in the near future.
Your friend,
The BoHo Scarecrow.
*Capos cost about a tenner a go, and I seem to lose them immediately. As I like using capos and play a lot of gigs I have lost a lot of them, often immediately and rarely without finding them afterward hence they have probably cost me more than the cost of a small bungalow in the Outer Hebridies that would be the perfect home for my parents.
I headed down to the indoor market today at Brixton Village for the Spacemakers event to film the day. Everything was very new in terms of familiarity with the equipment but the progression in the DV technology is remarkable. Even mid-range cameras have a huge amount of cleverly minaturised technology packed into their neatly designed bodies.
I enjoy filming immensely. This type of job isn't the kind that you can plan in too much detail for because things change quickly and all you really need are one or two random subjects to crop up to get on camera, and you're streets ahead straight off.
For those of you interested, I will be editing through next week and should have the first of the three scheduled versions put together by the end of next weekend.
On the tube ride home I had a moment to think about what comes next. Its been years since I finished my film degree at Canterbury. I simply haven't had the technology at my disposal since then, because I've spent the money on recording studios, guitars, amplifiers and capos.*
I am already thinking about bigger projects. Particularly my own music projects. We have converged in the digital space, musicians and film makers, that is. I can do both, and its a little like a bomb going off with all these projects that I've wanted to do for years suddenly being tangible.
Its quite simple. Ken Russell. Here is a man who has had budgets ranging from a few coppers to the biggest of all time (circa 1974.). All the man ever needed was a camera and the rest comes together. Ofcourse, people either love or hate Ken, but Michael Powell did the same. Film is balance between content and apparatus. Content is generated within the constraints of one's budget, but the budgetary constraint actually can be a blessing. You just need to be more inventive.
As for sound, you should ALWAYS overdub dialogue in narrative film. If you can't afford a boom or even a simpler arrangement, then you can go for overdubs or non-diagetic sounds. I am a fan of non-diagetic sound. Film is not reality, it is a projection. Quite literally, ofcourse.
So, film is where I am taking The BoHo Scarecrow project. It was always part of the DNA of how things would develop. Still early days and the learning curve is steep, but expect some boho brilliance in the near future.
Your friend,
The BoHo Scarecrow.
*Capos cost about a tenner a go, and I seem to lose them immediately. As I like using capos and play a lot of gigs I have lost a lot of them, often immediately and rarely without finding them afterward hence they have probably cost me more than the cost of a small bungalow in the Outer Hebridies that would be the perfect home for my parents.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Our Future In Celluloid
WE are working on a film project that has been toyed with for a while, but its only now with a little horse trading that it seems as though we can move forward.
That's right Boys and Girls! The BoHo Scarecrow movie is now go. Said horse trading has been done with business partner over at Kruger One, and I am heading into the movie business. Its going to be a bit like Filth & The Fury meets Magical Mystery Tour.
Film, if not my first wife, was my bedfellow for some yours. I studied it at University, particularly British non-realism and West coast avant-garde. Beyond that, I continued my odyssey on time and process based image projections, with my thesis on Gustav Metzger. I met Metzger and Boyle Family too.
This project has two distinct goals:
1) Produce an engaging promotional film for The BoHo Scarecrow project.
2) Generate video content for live performance projection.
And what of the New Year?
I'm rather keen to go into detox for a few months and have a holiday from drinking. I also want to stop smoking. My body needs the rest, and my pocket needs the money. Not least because I'd like to head out to L.A in the Summer and go on tour.
What a decade its been! My life is unrecognizable. Much better prepared for the new decade. A new epoch, for me I think. This is supposed to be the decade when I finally make a lot of money. In ten years time, I am supposed to be rich enough to start funding other people's vanity projects.
Regardless, Happy New Year.
Your friend,
The BoHo Scarecrow
That's right Boys and Girls! The BoHo Scarecrow movie is now go. Said horse trading has been done with business partner over at Kruger One, and I am heading into the movie business. Its going to be a bit like Filth & The Fury meets Magical Mystery Tour.
Film, if not my first wife, was my bedfellow for some yours. I studied it at University, particularly British non-realism and West coast avant-garde. Beyond that, I continued my odyssey on time and process based image projections, with my thesis on Gustav Metzger. I met Metzger and Boyle Family too.
This project has two distinct goals:
1) Produce an engaging promotional film for The BoHo Scarecrow project.
2) Generate video content for live performance projection.
And what of the New Year?
I'm rather keen to go into detox for a few months and have a holiday from drinking. I also want to stop smoking. My body needs the rest, and my pocket needs the money. Not least because I'd like to head out to L.A in the Summer and go on tour.
What a decade its been! My life is unrecognizable. Much better prepared for the new decade. A new epoch, for me I think. This is supposed to be the decade when I finally make a lot of money. In ten years time, I am supposed to be rich enough to start funding other people's vanity projects.
Regardless, Happy New Year.
Your friend,
The BoHo Scarecrow
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
The Christmas Tide
SO, we've nearly made it through another year. A new decade is just around the corner.
Despite my misgivings, last Sunday's show turned out to be a bit of a cracker. I was joined on stage by Fiddler Dan, who I jammed with at the Underwriter a couple of months back. He trecked all the way up from Croydon to play the gig. Had never heard the songs or rehearsed them. Halfway through the set we were backed by a drummer I found on the night called Jake. Jake turned out to be a bit of a pro.
My voice was shot for most of the gig. It was a show that I really didn't want to play. I felt empty inside beforehand. The cancellation at Monto really hit me hard, and emotionally the last few months have been a bit of a roller coaster.
But it came together as a whole. It was one of the most fun gigs that I've had for a while. The energy was tremendous particularly when Jake joined us. I have edited a couple of the songs together for you. Hope that you enjoy them.
Someone described the video as "magnificent", someone else said that it was "glorious", but most of all, my dear friend Tiff said that it was Buffets style, no rehearsal and all heart. I think that this is what rock n roll is always about. Its the spirit of what I want to do.
I like this type of chaos. When my old band The Light split after a few shows, I think that it had got too tight. The old magnificent madness of musicians getting together and simply rocking out, wasn't there. What BoHo Scarecrow offers is that kind of innocence, it isn't naivity, but the scope to take risks. The risks is where the adrenalin and the energy comes from.
Hope that you enjoy it. It all happens at 1 minute 59 seconds, btw.
The BoHo Scarecrow
Direct Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8oB5ARO9Wk
Sunday, 20 December 2009
So, you thought you might like to go to the show?
NEED to start putting my house in order for tonight's show.
I really have no idea what will happen. Dan the fiddler says that he's going to turn up and play. I have my finger crossed on that one.
I wrote in my last post about viewing this gig with trepidation. I still do. I seem to be running through a crisis of confidence.
But I also have a lot of anger building up in my gut. I hope that I will find a way to channel this tonight. Anger is a poison. I hate it. It needs to be purged.
I may also, finally, meet the mysterious Mobile Oracle tonight. This person I have never met nor know what they look like, might be in attendance. The deal is this, if she's there I have to pick her out of the crowd using only my instinct. Scarecrow senses.
I have no idea what will happen. I do sense the end of an era though. The snow we have in London at the moment, blown in from north is but the second coldest thing in town. The other is harder countenance. Nothing is more frustrating than when people assume they know or understand what drives the artist to make art or what drives the performer to perform. The guess of the dilletente always assumes that trials and tribulations must feed the creative process. It does not. The story goes way, way back. You have no idea. You, have no idea.
"STOP! I want to go home. Take off this Uniform and leave the show. And I'm waiting in this cell because I have to know. Have I been guilty, all this time?"
I really have no idea what will happen. Dan the fiddler says that he's going to turn up and play. I have my finger crossed on that one.
I wrote in my last post about viewing this gig with trepidation. I still do. I seem to be running through a crisis of confidence.
But I also have a lot of anger building up in my gut. I hope that I will find a way to channel this tonight. Anger is a poison. I hate it. It needs to be purged.
I may also, finally, meet the mysterious Mobile Oracle tonight. This person I have never met nor know what they look like, might be in attendance. The deal is this, if she's there I have to pick her out of the crowd using only my instinct. Scarecrow senses.
I have no idea what will happen. I do sense the end of an era though. The snow we have in London at the moment, blown in from north is but the second coldest thing in town. The other is harder countenance. Nothing is more frustrating than when people assume they know or understand what drives the artist to make art or what drives the performer to perform. The guess of the dilletente always assumes that trials and tribulations must feed the creative process. It does not. The story goes way, way back. You have no idea. You, have no idea.
"STOP! I want to go home. Take off this Uniform and leave the show. And I'm waiting in this cell because I have to know. Have I been guilty, all this time?"
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