It has been a while since I wrote a proper blog. The last few have been copies of my lyrics and an advert for the new band. As you may know, I left Wild Trash just before christmas. It was on the same day that we did the video shoot for the last single "Cellophane", so that really was my final contribution to the band. There was going to be a final gig on New Year's Eve but alas that was not to be.

My reasons for leaving were pretty much the same as my reasons for leaving most of the projects I have been involved with. I had taken it as far as it was going to go (for me personally that is) and the enjoyment for it was dwindling. Nothing stays the same and I was changing as a musician/songwriter, probably drifting too far from what the band was about. I think you just know when something isn't right for you anymore. It was the same with Reeved, Purity Cries and Dawnraiser. I am proud of everything I have done with all of those bands, don't get me wrong but I guess I just can't stay with the same sound indefinitely.

Lyndon and Kev are still very much enjoying the Wild Trash vibe and I am looking forward to enjoying watching gigs and hearing new demo material. Stevie has parted company with them and is embarking on a brand new project with me as well as a new metal based project with Paul and Dave from Reeved and Andy and Gez from Kryokill/The Raven Theory and related bands.

We commence rehearsals with the new band on Thursday (15/01) and the project has the working title of "Suicide By Cop", which may or may not change. We have a line-up sorted and we just need to see if it all works. I intend on taking some of the later material I wrote for Wild Trash with me to the new band as a starting point but whether we end up playing any of it live remains to be seen. None of it has been decided and none of us know exactly what it will end up sounding like. I guess it's a case of watch this space ......

I have been doing the promotions work for The Mannville Arms for the last 6 months or so. Tom Marshall left back in August and I took the reins. It is a labour of love for me.

I have been doing my best to up the profile of the venue and also to make it a more varied experience. I have also tried to make the whole entertainment a bit more cohesive too. We have a great team of DJs and promotion staff down there and we are working together a lot more these days, with more themed and genre specific nights as well as a varied spread of great Saturday night bands. It seems to be working as we get multiple requests for weekend gigs every week and we are now running on a 6 months waiting list for Saturday gigs.

Also in the pipeline is a one-off Dawnraiser appearance - the first gig in over 10 years. This is to take place on Easter Sunday (12/04) and is part of a charity all-dayer which is being put together by Paul Gooding. Initial rehearsals for that are starting this Sunday (18/01). The line-up itself is made up from Myself, Paul Gooding, Ian Bell, Dave Ayres and Stevie Ward so is a mixture of old line-ups as well as a guest drummer. It has been quite some time since we played any of the old songs and we have all been trawling the archives to remind ourselves of how to play it!

So, an eventful and enjoyable few months ahead really. Happy days!