Ahoy!
Yeah... I haven't written one for a little while. So sue me! I've been busy, discovering, rediscovering and generally not having the time (or inclination) to write a new ramble.
I think Andy (Farrell, that is: Check out his webpage) said recently that these entries remind him of a sort of stream of consciousness, and I'm inclined to agree with that; I don't really plan out what I'm going to say, beyond a sort of vague notion of what I'd like to discuss. Words simply spill onto the web form in front of me as quickly as I can type them, since I'm typing what I think!
Anyway...
Lessons have been learnt, very quickly recently. Cashen has probably pointed out several times that I'm too lenient on people, and I don't think that's entirely true... I like to think the best of people, but that doesn't mean that I suffer fools gladly. In fact, I've found myself being increasingly blunt; downright frosty, to anyone I dislike, including people I've barely met.
That said, it's rare that I meet someone and take an instant dislike to them - You have to be a very special kind of tool to merit that treatment!
I went out on Saturday night, with Mr. Richard Batty. I didn't intend to, I'll add, he just popped up on Facebook and said "Fancy town? Nothing crazy", so I got the last bus into town (Something I haven't done before... Sad, I know, but it really was a novel experience!), went to the Cavern for a few drinks (and listened to a rather good Lennon impersonator play a set), then stayed after closing time with the staff (Richie pointed out that I drink pints faster than anyone he knows), and ended up going to Santo Chupitos with the lovely Lucy and (forgive me if I'm wrong here) Kiernan, which was amusing... Sort of. Drank something there called a "Hand Grenade" (Yes, I know - any drink with a suitably euphemistic name is never going to be good news, but screw it), then went to Bar Samui... Which was full of scallys, basically, bit of a shit hole, so we left - Just in time to avoid a huge fight in the doorway. Got home at 5am, and was walking to Leah's at 4pm (still half drunk/hungover!) for her graduation party (CONGRATULATIONS LEAH!), which was well cool, got to just chill out with a load of friends =]
Anyway... Roll round to Wednesday, and my 22nd Birthday. Was touched by how many people said happy birthday to me, my facebook comments & messages, and text messages, were busy all day, it was lovely, so thank you all =]
I got a 160gb iPod Classic! Bless the Mothership for her generosity, hahah... We'd talked last week about me getting one, and she suggested a 16gb Nano (met with withering scorn by yours truly), and so I ended up with my Classic =]
I ended up crying with laughter until 5am this morning, by the way, listening to Ricky Gervais' podcasts... I absolutely HAVE to download the full audiobooks, because there's about 12 hour-long episodes...
And now; I spoke to Mr. Al O'Hare today, on the dog n' bone, and we just chatted about getting together to work on songs. Really feel like I officially can claim the title of "bassist from The Trestles" now, so on that note... Check us out on MySpace! The Trestles
Those of you expecting more Stop Motion Theory style music will be surprised. =]
Music... Luke told me the other day that he respects how hard I've worked at being a musician, and that he's adamant I'll "make" it. Which got me wondering: How exactly do you define having "made it"? I mean, I'm now in two (possibly to become three, shortly) quality bands, and I enjoy being in both. So does simply being happy being in a band qualify it? I think there would be some people who would say "yes" here, and kudos to them for feeling like that, but for me, I want something more... I want - and have wanted for some time - to be able to live from making and playing music that I love. Not living in some crazy mansion in Beverly Hills, I mean being in a band as my day job, to survive from day to day. I don't care about playing stadiums, I just want to play to a reasonable crowd, earn a bit of money, and still enjoy what I'm doing.
Is that too much to ask? =]
So anyway, The Trestles... We've been played on BBC Radio Merseyside recently, and we've a single being released on iTunes on August 30th, on which date we're playing The Zanzibar. See you there!
Friendship, then. A bit of a bastard, at times. Take me and Luke, for example. Friends - Good friends - for 6 years, now, and that's only because he knows how to deal with me when I'm being an arrogant twat, and I know how to deal with him when he's drunk. But, it works, and we're still good friends. And the main reason for that is simple:
I know I can trust him as well as I can myself. I know that if I need to see him, he'll drop everything and make time for me, if I need help he'll do everything he can, if he hasn't heard from me in a while, he'll ring and see how I'm doing - and he knows I'd do exactly the same for him too.
Basically, all of the above makes him a good friend, and I'm pleased to say that I have a few of those people around me, and I'm realising who doesn't fit the bill, too.
Having talked to a couple of people, I've realised I'm very much one of the people guilty of putting someone else at number one when that person doesn't put me anywhere except the back of their mind. I think we all do that, to a certain extent, soo... I'm trying to cut down on it. =]
Classical Music & Jazz: Why are they so derided by everyone except those with the knowledge to fully appreciate both?
Average Joe seems (in my experience) to hear a sample of either and come out with something along the lines of "THAT'S BORING" and switch off. At which I can only shake my head sadly, and really genuinely feel thankful that I've been brought up in a house with all sorts of music playing, all the time, and no cries of "Turn that shit off!". Anything (music-wise) goes, and therefore, the same applies for my music taste!
Right. I don't have any philosophical musings for you this time round. Sorry! I've not had time to contemplate the universe, as I usually do!
So, I'm off to pack for Ireland... More musical hi-jinks, I get to see my dad... It's all good. I get back, and have a gig to play too - Kind of a warm-up, I'm told, so I'm looking forward to that one! August 12th, Carter's Arms, Kirkby. =]
Right. I shall be writing again when I return from my spiritual home to my physical one!
Happy Hunting!
Au Rev,
Tet x
Ahh man I srsly need to update my site, it's an embarrassment. Bob reckons I should put some programming-related stuff on there, and I'm inclined to agree, although "caerphoto" and programming don't exactly go together.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway. Classical and jazz being derided by people who don't appreciate them. Well duh. To be honest, a lot of jazz seems to be music that only musicians (or people with a strong understanding of music theory) really like - it's not exactly noob-friendly. Obviously not all jazz is like this, but then the stuff that is accessible (and that's the key word here) is, I imagine, derided by the more hardcore fans as "lightweight" and the like. Can't please everyone :-)
Classical is similar, I think, just to a lesser extent. This is possibly because it's been aroun longer, so is a more ingrained part of western culture, thus naturally more accessible.