8th January 2012 - A belated happy new year to you. I hope you had a good festive season and all that. I’ve been preoccupied with BATS’ production of “Puss In Space Boots” - a riotous panto that’s a cross between Star Trek, Star Wars and Puss in Boots, with a pinch of Rocky Horror Picture Show and much Bowie to boot.

It’s been a real step outisde the comfort zone but I’m  thoroughly enjoying it. Everyone works unbelievably hard and have made me feel so welcome. I think tickets are still available. It’s £7.50 for adults and less for children. It’s very funny and the choice of music is great.

PS - Happy 65th birthday Mr D Bowie.

9th December 2011 - Tonight brings an interview with Lancashire Songwriters’ spot on Preston FM with Paul & Lucy Breeze, who are kindly playing Love Like That off the new album. Many thanks indeed to Paul and Lucy for their support.

19th November 2011 -  So the morning after the night before and while Children in Need and a local 50th party kept the baying crowds away (well that’s my excuse), Martin and I had a great time. The Midland Hotel, Appleby-in-Westmorland, is a labour of love for Clive and Amie and they have worked so hard to refurbish the place, and quite frankly, they’re doing an amazing job. The food is fab, the staff are lovely, and the new decor and refurb is stunning. It’s right by Appleby railway station (so Settle-Carlisle trains thunder past). Clive and Amie made us so welcome and looked after us very very well. The room was a treat and I really hope things continue to go well for them. Well worth a visit, for the food, the real ale and the company.

Anyone that knows Clive might not recognise him with his Gringo moustache that he’s growing for Movember, in aid of prostrate and testicular cancer. Suits you sir!!

10th November 2011 -  On Friday 18th November, I will be playing a slot at The Midland Hotel, Appleby-in-Westmorland, in aid of Children In Need. Always a fab cause, please come along if you can.

For more details, please call The Midland Hotel on 01768 351524. Clive or Amie will be happy to help Facebook.

9th November 2011 - I had the immense pleasure of Supporting JAKE MORLEY last night at Bootleggers, whilst on his UK tour. It was scary but enjoyable and good to be playing songs from the new album , albeit on my own! Jake’s unusual technique was excellent, interesting and totally refreshing. His performance was very visual, and his upright bass player John added another sumptuous dimension. What a treat.  Please take a minute to watch Jake on YouTube

14th September 2011 - All the new tracks are now available to listen or download HERE. Please let me know what you think.

11th September 2011 -  I took part in a gig at The Crown, Garstang on Friday for “Help For Heroes”. Government cuts are clearly biting as 25% of the published line up didn’t arrive, but we didn’t let that spoil things. BILL ORRICK kicked off and if ever Jeff Buckley had reincarnated i n Leyland, then this singer songwriter is definitely his host. Wow. Its a shame that so few were in attendance by that point because Bill was excellent.

Bill  mixed a few covers (Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”, Fleetwood Mac’s “Big Love”,  to name but two) with his own originals and I think he is heading for bigger things because his blend of finger picking, chord sequences, idiosyncratic vocals and utter blatant talent were impressive. Shame so few experienced it. Bill gigs as much as he can but is like the rest of us mutant musicians searching for recognition when belts and legislation are tightened...

Please spare a moment to learn more about this man - he’s worth it URL: http://www.myspace.com/billorrick

Anyway, things really pepped up and ALEX DANSON & SARA BREENY did a set of upbeat, well harmonised songs that the (let’s exaggerate) “crowd” enjoyed and had a good Friday night singalong, thus a happy end to the proceedings.

* * * * * * *

* 7th September 2011 - Another gap. I’m good at those.

Soooooo, album artwork finalised by the monstrously expensive design company I hired (cough). I was assured by the team of professionals that “simple” was the way to go.

They will be couriered expressly from the swanky office some time next week, and if I can continue doing the final mix as intensely as I have today (greyhound permitting) then it should be ripe next week.

Suggestions please......shall I put it on iTunes, or hard copies via PayPal on the site? Or both? It won’t be pricey. Or shall I forget it all and retreat into a corner with my head in a Greggs bag?

Also, this Friday (9th September) I will be playing at THE CROWN, High Street, Garstang  (PR3 1FA) for THE LANCASHIRE SONGWRITERS to help fund raise for Help For Heroes.  From 9pm to midnight. See Mark Griffiths on FACEBOOK for further details. Please come along if you can.

Oh and where’s all the abuse on the guestbook?

* * * * * * *

* 14th July 2011 - So another gap another website. Do please let me know what you think….. There’s a whole new guest book too so abuse away.

Much progress with the new stuff. Some finishing and all artwork to do so watch the proverbial space.

On Sunday 24th July I’m playing a spot at Lancaster Grand Theatre with Martin Cash as a fundraiser for the theatre, so a new box office can be built. See their site HERE. Please join us if you can. I’ll be playing 3 of my own songs.

* * * * * * *

*3rd March 2011 - Brother Al is visiting soon (that's the sibling, not the Abbot) and we'll be getting together in Bootleggers, Kendal, for an acoustic jumble on Wednesday 13th April. Billed thus:

"The trans-Atlantic brothers get together for a gallimaufry of favourites; from childhood to manhood.

An absolute one off due to geography and having done it all before; acoustic; relaxed; unrehearsed... what else is there to do on a Wednesday evening?"

So join us if you can. Its free entry and might be worth popping your head round the door.

* 16th March 2011 - BIG PAUSE IN WEB STUFF - sold a kidney and purchased web hosting. I'm sure dear reader that you've been pining for records of what I have been up to. Well, pine no longer.

The last 7 months have seen me tackling the "difficult second album"..... Which coincidentally is proving less difficult than the first, mainly due to my getting used to the software (which my fabulous brother upgraded for my significant birthday - cough) and having more time for effing about due to glass back syndrome, etc.

The album will be entitled "Observations From a Glass House" and will be finished when I can persuade (ie, get drunk enough) Claire to do some backing wailing.

As the rural Provencal studio was fully booked, I have used my usual haunt to record and produce, so another Damp Cellar Production to follow Unbreakable.

Rob Wallace has joined me in the damp cellar for drumming expertise, vocals and handclaps (very difficult to master) and it is with great relief to our lovely neighbours that Rob used his practise kit and NOT the full cacophonous kit!! (Anyone who has ever attended a Storm gig will get what I mean...)

There will be 13 songs: lyrically Claire's and musically mine; with no real theme save for commenting on what's around. It's a bit more "modern" Country yet still pop-ish with more vocals and less mucking about. See, you can pigeon hole something without using the terms fusion or eclectic. Without wishing to brag, I think it's more polished and I've grown in confidence. Anyway - you be the judge.

I'm looking at a site that allows free download. I have no idea why - There's always the other kidney!

And I have rejoined THE FABULOUS PICASSO BROTHERS and am very busy doing weddings, piss ups and bar mitzvahs. I'm on keyboards again and this current line up is worth a listen... Lenny is back and we've got some new and fresh stuff. We're all over as usual but you can see the detail on the website.

Oh, and Happy New Year!!

* 17th July 2010 - Well it's the morning after the night before and while the Wembley hoards remained in Wembley, those fabulous people who made the effort to come to the Soccer Bar gig made all the effort worthwhile. Thank you to all of you and I hope you had a good night.

Jonty, Steve, Rob, Martin and Degs were brilliant and all the work they have put in for my benefit is hugely, hugely appreciated. True friends. Thank you.

* 15th July 2010 - David Duffin kindly did some editorial in the North West Evening Mail to publicise tomorrow night's gig:

* 1st July 2010 - A massive THANK YOU to everyone who ventured out on a hot Wednesday evening to Bootleggers to support Jonty, Rob, Steve, Martin and I. I was really pleased to see so many people and I hope you had a good night. We have rehearsed quite a bit of late and the nerves were jangling somewhat, but we had a great night.

Personally, the biggest thank you of course goes to Jonty, Steve, Rob and Martin for a colossal amount of support and enthusiasm, along with many unpaid hours of slog, getting through my own stuff and all the covers. Chris Edgar very kindly did the sound for the evening and it was a relief to pass the buck with that job, so thanks very much Chris. (Website). I've worked with these fine musicians over many years and they have excelled themselves beyond anything I could wish for.

Of course we're doing it all again on Friday 16th July at Barrow's Soccer Bar if anyone has £3 to spare (£5 for 2 tickets).

* 18th June 2010 -  Rob, Jonty, Steve and I (and Martin!) had another rehearsal last night in preparation for the Bootleggers and Soccer Bar gigs. All going according to plan and we're looking forward to playing the songs in front of an audience. I've chosen some covers based on some of the stuff that has influenced me over the years. So first is Bootleggers in Kendal, on Wednesday 30th June. Please come and support us. It's free entry too!

Also, saw Butch Walker at Night & Day in Manchester on Tuesday - what can I say?! He played for 2 hours and was pretty amazing. He signed my many CDs which was worth waiting all those years for. What a guy. It made up for John Mayer's gig on the 5th being cancelled.

* 15th May 2010 - So 7 songs laid down for the "difficult second album". Pleased really. I'm being a control freak and doing it all thus far. More country. Lighter. Cheesy rock ballad. Tribute to George H. Better sound thanks to new software. More experience generally. Claire's words and my music. She's happy (so far - old duffer's 30 something today) and there's a few more nearly ready.

Toying with the idea of an EP ready for the Bootleggers and Soccer Bar gigs - don't know. Any thoughts? Saleable? How much? (be kind...) Oh and has anyone bought a bargain ticket for the Soccer Bar yet? £3 for one and £5 for two.

But despite musical milestones and birthday frivolities and camping (don't ask...) the BEST news of all is we get to experience THE finest living young singer/songwriter ever - John Mayer; for the second time, MEN, 5th June.

There IS a god.

(the latter statement is in no way endorsed by Damp Cellar Productions, management or customers. We are impartial as to the existence of any higher being or network of beings and condone no single religious system above any other. Except maybe Butch Walker on the 15th June at Manchester.)

* 21st March 2010 - 2 gigs to announce so I can play the new album plus a selection of my influences. Steve Roberts will play bass, Jonty will play guitar, and Rob Wallace and Si Kidson will take the drums for a gig each:

   Gig at Bootleggers on Wednesday 30th June 2010 - Free entry

   Gig at The Soccer Bar, Barrow on Friday 16th July 2010 - Tickets £3 or two for a fiver - available soon

* 11th March 2010 - It's ready!!!! Finally, after much tinkering and faffing, UNBREAKABLE is done. Okay, I could still bugger about some more but there comes a time when you have to stop being so picky. The packaging is minimal but I hope the quality isn't......  

Al has added the video to Turn Around  on YouTube.

* 4th March 2010 - The CD's mastered, the booklets are ordered and I'm copying discs with one hand and typing with the other.... The link to PayPal will go on next week and other than that, if bought in person they'll be a fiver. It was going to be more but we binned the idea of a plastic case, etc, and decided to make it more minimal and therefore as cheap as possible. So the discs will be in a white card wallet with a booklet containing the lyrics and the usual information. So the first project of Damp Cellar Productions for the Electric Baileyland label is almost finished.

Anyone interested in the choice of name and logo?

Anyone interested in a gig to perform the album and some of my own favourite covers?

I'm working on the next album and even the one after that. Fool.

* 27th February 2010 - Well Al has done some filming in the cellar of all places for the single Turn Around, so I'll announce it when it's ready on YouTube. Can't wait to see what he's done with that!! Clever bugger.

I'm doing the final (yes final) mixes for the album Unbreakable and Claire is trying to find a decent yet low cost way of packaging them. The artwork is ready. I'm going to add a "lyrics" page to the site too.

* 3rd February 2010 - Sorry for the gap and lack of Happy New Year stuff but it's been a difficult time. Suffice to say, it's Mum's funeral tomorrow.

So brother Al is over and boy I wish it was for different reasons. As he has around a month to fill and you can only look around the Abbot Hall Museum a limited number of times, he has kindly agreed to film a video for my new single Turn Around (which incidentally is my daughter's favourite from the album: not because of any innate talent of her father or songwriting prowess of her mother; but simply because it contains a rude word!).

Bootleggers is probably the scene after the recent re-furb and probably the good old cellar, and the rest is up to Al. There'll be no six packs or scantily clad ladies (trust me, I've asked) but at least we don't need to find parking for the film crew's trailer. I've stopped making promises of timescale so it'll be ready when it's ready I'm afraid.

In other news, I have left the Fabulous Picasso Brothers (again!!!) and Jez Procter has filled the post (again!!!).

Anyone up for Jon Allen on Tuesday 9th at Bootleggers? Only £7.50 - I got my ticket today. I bought the album a while ago and it's fab. People do the Rod Stewart comparison but I think he's better (and younger) and it's a well put together, nicely rounded album. Bargain.

So a belated Happy New Year and health, wealth, luck, love and good gigs to you all xx

* 26th December 2009 - Happy Christmas to anyone reading this. Hopefully it was a pleasant experience. I did my back in last week (no really - not just glass back syndrome - I've now got enough painkillers to knock out a horse) so had to miss a few gigs. Apologies for things still unfinished. Hope you all have a good New Year and see you at gigs in 2010.

* 22nd November 2009 - Disaster at the home of Damp Cellar Productions. The PC had a heart attack and died. Great. So to PC World (there are other PC retailers available) for good and bad news. Good: I can have my £24.99 for data transfer services refunded. Bad: the hard drive is some kind of shrink wrapped and must be sent away to some special laboratory on Mars to be opened in a sterile room costing a mere £700.

Worse news - My name is Stuart and I haven't backed up lately.

While this is not a forum for cursing...well you can fill in the rest. So although its not square one, its  a lot to re-do. Still, some of the vocals were a bit ropey. I've totally lost the bonus track and one lot of Simon's drums. Thankfully I wrote down all the drum settings.

* 19th September 2009 - Busy mixing the album between very late nights, very early mornings (3.30 a.m. - yes there are 2 lots of 3.30 in one day!), gigs and the school run (that's not 4.5 minutes in a Land Rover Discovery but a 2 mile walk each way...) and the occasional very short conversation with the woman I live with. If there's time... No more actual recording to do, just mxing and arguing with myself.

* 27th August 2009 - More Simon - real drums on the title track - much better. Now for mixing.

* 4th August 2009 - Pete has been to put his part of the bass on. Now up to me to tidy, mix and finish off. It's like pulling teeth. I'm a picky beggar; I can't help it! Maybe if I stopped listening to John Mayer and Butch Walker, I might ease up a bit.

* 22nd July 2009 - Simon has been back so all drums done and dusted. Dave Kinley is coming next week to add the remaining bass. Tidying still to do and then maybe, just maybe, it might finally be fffffinished.

* 23rd June 2009 - Her highness is 6. Her favourite mutt and Unbreakable single cover star is 23. I'm just old.

*21st June 2009 - Is this the new album cover? Please click on the image to enlarge it. I genuinely would like feedback (unless it involves comments on hair loss, wrinkles, etc) NO ANIMALS were harmed in the making of this CD cover. Spot the super star dog...? Look at him, he's enjoying it.

* 19th June 2009 - All vocals and guitars done. Lots of tweaking. Drums and bass to be added next week. Pete is back from the rigs, so looking forward to that. Gary Abbott has kindly and expertly added trumpet parts to 2 songs so far. Tight as a duck's you know what. He will be adding his skills to another song hopefully. This time he won't have to come back to re-record the lost  parts.....

* 16th May 2009 - Got the PC back and after major hiccups, i've managed to rescue most of what we've done so far. I've also totally altered 2 of the songs I wasn't happy with, and recorded 3 new ones, which Simon will hopefully be drumming on next week.

* 30th April 2009 - All work ground to a halt because of technical issues - no really - technical problems. The mother board (I will resist the temptation for profanity) has gone to meet its maker so sorry for your wasted journey Simon, and thanks to Martin the computer doctor from Furness PCs.....in advance.....

* 21st April 2009 -  Steve Harris has agreed to add his bass talent to the album. So thank you for that Steve and I'm looking forward to hearing your interpretation. As a post script to the NWE Mail article, I was thinking off the cuff when asked for my top 5 influences - so difficult! Therefore apologies to Messers Bowie, Elton John, Prince, Buckley, Mayer, Waite et al.

* 16th April 2009 -  The North West Evening Mail have kindly put an article about my recent efforts in their Going Out Guide. Sorry about the photos..... Anyway, the link for now, until I scan it and all that stuff, is: LINK

* 14th April 2009 - I was interviewed today by our local paper, the North West Evening Mail, and that should be going in over the next day or two. I will try to put a copy on the Gallery page when its available. Finally finished the brass arrangement for the new song Bring Me Down - over to Dad...

* 11th April 2009 - Spent a damn cold morning attempting photos for the album in Abbotswood. Hope its worth it. Abbotswood is above Furness Abbey and very atmospheric (and cold in April).

* 6th April 2009 - Simon Kidson has been back to the cellar to record some more drums for the Unbreakable album.  Boy, can that guy play! He listened to a demo and has added his own extra touches to really finish the songs off, particularly his high hat work and cymbal flourishes; all giving new accents to the songs.

* 16th March 2009 - My new single is finally finished. Its on YouTube and is now available on iTunes, Amazon mp3 and Napster!. My brother kindly made the video from material filmed during his visit in September 2008. I'm busy at home on the album, with a little help from my friends - particularly Mr Kidson! Cheers Simon...