Hello there,

I have been writing new music, and have spent most of my money on condenser microphones and banjos. I decided a long time ago to stop making music - it was stressing me out, and i felt as though i was flogging a horse with terminal cancer.

I also didn't like the sound of my voice - i thought that in the studio it was always such a rush to get things perfect that i ended up singing in this reminds-me-of-an-emotional-cheese-grater style just to get the notes perfect, and whilst there are some artists who use this to their advantage, it was not for me.

Now, to quote Ok Computer, i feel fitter, happier, healthier. Green tea and a new lifestyle make for many-a-happy-hour-of-recording-a-night, and i've come to realise that even though i disliked much of my music in the past, i found myself with some lovely reviews and some lovely gigs.

So, from now on, no more hype; no more 'project the image of success' - if i am successful i am successful; if i am not, then at least some people might enjoy the music. Take the lee rosys gigs for example - we managed to fill it three or four times, but it was so stressful, constantly telling myself that if loads of people didn't show up i was a failure.

I'm drawing a line under the past, and i have no more desire to play many of those songs - they don't mean anything to me anymore. Or they do, just in a different way which i don't feel like focussing on. I want to make things which will make people smile; I want to sing about cats and mushroom clouds, soggy teabags on worktops, dancing in socks and nothing else, my dad's homemade wine, natwest and modernism, black and white photographs, pigs rolling around in mud, bolognaise pizzas and italian restaurants. I honestly don't feel as though i truly dislike a single person in this world anymore, and i want nothing more than for everyone to sit down, relax, and smile about this funny little thing we call life.

I'll see you again, soon.
-jack