Hello,

In an insane moment last weekend I bought a nice hard case that was supposed to be for a 5 string banjo ...unfortunately when I got my hands on it I find it's for a tenor as my Washburn B9 won't fit .......has any one in the world at large an interest in taking it of my hands or engineering a swap for a case that fits ?.....

I'm afraid all this is denying the greater public the aural pleasure of my banjo mangling until I can find a case to put it in  

Here we go nothing posted for a while so just a few words of explanation =

 In previous blogs I mentioned there was always the danger with my travelling long distances for the day job plus attending  other peoples open sessions, shows helping with festivals, updating musicmk  and running my own open mic nights etc., etc., that one day I'd meet myself coming back ....

That particular prophecy seems to have been fulfilled  when I was taken ill in July and sampled the delights of Milton Keynes hospital. It seems I have contracted labyrinthitis , an inflamation of the middle ear affecting balance as well as other things. I haven't been able to get the doctor to predict how long the condition will last. From googling the name I read estimates and case studies on this condition as lasting anything from a couple of months to a few years.

I just wanted to thank all the friends and players who have recently helped continue to do the open mike nights in Rushden and in Stony Stratford - I'll keep going as long as I can and as long as you'll let me.

So if you see me down the pub and it looks as though I'm drunk on lemonade instead of beer then you'll know why

"More Cheese" was the quote of the night last night at The Oakley Arms Rushden from Dan Fall as he received his award at our inaugral cheese contest  at the open mic night
Dan flattened the competition with The Time Warp although I have a soft spot for the other contenders - Ricky, Lee, Peter Parker et. all

More fun and games in a week or so back at The Oakley. The chalenge is on to decide on the next daft theme

I have been wondering whether people in Stony are up for just silliness or are they too strait laced - you tell me  

Its been a strange year so far for live music, there seems to be a number of pubs and venues cutting back . Some have stopped it completely some have slowed down to just one or two gigs a month.

It’s very obvious why. when you lift your eyes up from the guitar and scan the crowd .. there’s fewer people through the door to cover the costs.

We really need every venue hosting live music to be supported as well as we’re able otherwise we’ll lose it to disco dick and the crud factor kareoke

What I’m asking for is if you want to keep it live then go out whenever you can , even if you’re feeling tired or under the weather . If your not keen on what the venue is promoting then let them know and suggest alternatives....Use it or Lose it

After that rant, I’ll get off me soapbox just to say I’ll be at the Oakley Arms in Rushden tonight and then dashing down to South Wales and Bristol for the rest of the week

tues 26th Feb

Having got to grips with some recording ( have done 28 tracks ! ) have just changed the noise on this site - hope it sounds OK