So getting asked to support the Heavy once was amazing, getting asked a second time is just awesome. It was so much fun the first time round so I was really looking forward to this especially considering how well The Heavy are doing. They’re on the way home after a world tour, they absolutely killed it in America, they played The Late Show with David Letterman and got asked to do an encore…thats unheard of!!!

I played first, I played essentially the same set but made two changes I threw in the cover of Jump Around by House of Pain to get people warmed up and finished with a new song called From Grace, It’s a singer songwriter style tune with guitar beatbox and string synths and I’ve been itching to give it its first live outing so I did and it worked.

Next up were the Black Reds. I had never seen or heard of them before but I was truly amazed by the sheer energy they expelled whilst playing. This two piece is made up of a guitarist and a drummer, the drummer plays stood up and is also the lead singer. They stand up front together and they play a truly admirable show, I tried to take a picture but every attempt was blurry as they play that fast. Their last number saw the guitarist playing the guitar and the bass drum whilst the drummer/singer took his floor tom into the crowd and seek out 3 people (myself included) to beat the drum. I loved it, I absolutely loved it. Basically imagine the White Stripes but actually really f@£$ing good. Find them see them and love them!

since I last blogged but I have stuff to tell you now so it’s all good. Well I guess I had to wait until I had something just as cool as The Heavy show to talk about and by god I think I’ve done it! On the 29th Of January I played at Pressure-Drop which is a night run by Birmingham Ska outfit Tempting Rosie who’s main goal is to put on an eclectic and positive night of music. I arrived at the venue alone and had no idea what to do with myself but by the end of the night I had made loads of new friends from the other bands.

I was up first, I kept it up beat and funky and had a good time playing. Next up was Fistful of Dynamite these guys are the quintessential party band, they just tore the place apart with amazing funk and hip hop. Every song had a hook you just couldn’t get enough of be that from the keyboard, bass drums or brass. Next up were the hosts of the evening and they took it to another level. The sheer energy that they displayed was an awesome sight, the end of their set saw the whole place skankin and Ewan the over animated trumpet player stood on the bar playing out of his skin which is impressive considering he played in Fistful of Dynamite as well. I ended up talking with Craig from Fistful of Dynamite until the wee small hours about how much we love what we do and after playing nights like this it’s easy to see why.

I was up first, I started with a new instrumental intro I’ve cooked up called Patchy, I didn’t know what to expect from this as it was it’s first live outing but it went over really well. The rest of the set went smoothly and I can’t give sound guy Jimmy Forster enough credit because people complimented me on the sound afterwards and I’m adamant he’s to blame. Next up were ska/indie/punk powerhouses At The Zoo these guys are amazing, they play upbeat fast paced tunes that are so catchy they’re borderline infectious. In fact they’ve just released some tracks on iTunes on an e.p called Nouveau Popular click this link and it can be yours for a very nominal fee but remember just because it isn’t expensive doesn’t make it cheap, this shit’s legit!

And now to our headliners. The Heavy are a hard act to describe, imagine one part James Brown, one part Curtis Mayfield, one part The Specials with the riffs of Rage Against The Machine and you’d be confused but you’d be close. I can honestly say hands down the best gig I’ve seen in Brum for a long time. The front man Swaby absolutely ruled the crowd with the band playing music that can only be described as tighter than a tight thing on a tight day. The whole night was perfect, the sound was good, the crowd were great, the music was awesome and I have well and truly got the buzz on for playing gigs.

The very next evening I found myself getting ready to play the Yard Bird in the center of Birmingham. I’ve walked past this place so many times and caught a glimpse of what went on in there and always promised myself “One day I’m gonna play that place” I was sharing the bill with an amazing acoustic performer by the name of Jake Morgan and the indie blues funk outfit Anyone For Shark?

Jake Morgan was a real breath of fresh air, imagine Johnny Cash mixed with Dillon and a little bit of Iron and Wine and you’d be getting close. Very well played.

Anyone For Shark were awesome! a healthy mix of blues, funk and rock n roll with some truly edgy vocals, I thoroughly enjoyed them and they were a fine bunch of lads to prop the bar up with too.

I have to say a massive thank you to Laura Rowson who payed me the most massive of compliments by coming to see me play at the Yard Bird after having seen me support De La Soul in June. Made me feel really good about what I’m doing. That said I must also thank Ms Daniels, Geo and Thom for coming out to see me play this one as they have done many times before.

Have you ever had one of those moments where have to ask your self how the hell did I end up here, doing this? Well that’s pretty much what I was thinking on Wednesday night as I was sat outside Tammy Wynettes silver trailer in the artist backstage area at The Leamington Assembly with Pos, Dave and Maseo sat chilling a mere 3 feet away.

This was by far my biggest gig to date, as the afternoon unfolded I wasn’t feeling anything out of the ordinary. If anything I had a mild case of “let me at em!!!” but other than that I wasn’t feeling nervous. That changed the second I went out on stage to last minute check and saw the two level hall absolutely packed with 900+ people. My heart started racing! I had to have a quiet word with myself, “Stop flapping and just f*$£ing do it!” 

So I stepped out on stage and some loyal Smiley followers made some noise for me and I triggered my signature attention grabbing intro and off I went. The second I finished Smiley-skit the crowd let me know they were on my side and it was a relief! I played my new song “Crunch” and messed up the first loop but I only noticed after I added the second and third. I tried to play the chords in a way to cover it up but it wasn’t happening. My internal dialogue was ticking over “What are you gonna do?, this is very obviously not going right, errrrrrrrr?”

Stopping a song once your a good 45 seconds in is something you’re not supposed to do but I couldn’t think of any other way of handling it. ” I’m sorry but this is the biggest F%$£ing gig of my life and if I’m gonna play this I’m gonna do it properly, is that cool with you” I asked the crowd and they let me know in abundance that I’d made the right call. I finished the set with Rappers Delight (it only seemed right) and thanked the crowd for being an outstanding audience and I was off. I proceeded to dance my ass off with my friends to one of the best live hip hop sets I’ve ever seen.

I later found myself posing for the photo you see above, completely perplexed at how I arrived there doing that.

There are some people who have helped me along the way in my musical career and as this was my biggest gig to date I think this is the best time to thank all of them. Sara you are the most patient and supportive girl I have ever known. John Mostyn and Claire Burgess at C.I.D Music. Dave Smith for sorting my website and printing out. Kris Halpin for being an amazing producer and even better mate. Colin Brown, Ian Clarke, Jim Warrior, Tompz and Baldy you have all given me much appreciated musical input and advice and I’m a better performer because of it. Dephect clothing for flowing me cool t shirts to perform in, Skullcandy for flowing me headphones for playing live with and finally my friends and followers who came to support me at this show or any other gig for that matter, it means the world to me that you’re there cheering me on.

On the 20th of May I made my way into Birmingham and over to Kings Heath to the Hare & Hounds to Support Son of Dave. This is one of the best live venues in the city and has played host to some very well known acts. I’ve wanted to play there for a long time, so to be asked to play there supporting someone like Son of Dave was a big break. Sound check went well and just as it finished people started to gather outside and took a second to get a bite to eat. There’s a chip shop just opposite the Hare & Hounds do yourself a favour….avoid it!

I really wasn’t sure how well I’d go down with the crowd, which was made up of a peculiar mix of old school blues fans and the younger crowd you’d expect to see at a Birmingham show. They were great! I played my new song “Crunch”  and kept the rest of the set more instrument based rather than play beaty stuff and everyone seemed to dig it. Son of Dave was a real showman, creating weirdly recognisable settings, painting audio landscapes using his looper and making sound effects in a beat box style. It was interesting to see another one man band work in a different way.

Considering it’s been months since we last worked on a track I had expected it might take us longer to find our flow but here we are 4 hours in and all of the loops for a track called 5:00 AM are recorded. As soon as my throat is better I can lay down the vocals and then Mr Halpin can start tweaking each loop to make the whole track sparkle. 

This afternoon has not only been really productive but a lot of fun, if things keep going this well then recording is going to be a very painless process.