So, it’s on the grapevine that I might be performing a secret, solo show, in a venue next door to the July Skies gig on the 7th July in Rimini.

More info to follow…

July Skies latest…

On Saturday 7th July, July Skies will be playing an extended live set.

I’ll be playing acoustic guitar for this set, and rumours are of a possible Timothy Parkes set as support to July Skies.

The performance will be part of the #8 Festival di musica el letteratura.

http://www.julyskies.com/wordpress2/www.assaltialcuore.it

Should anyone find themselve in the Rimini area in July, here’s the address.

Corte degli Agostiniani via Cairoli, 40 Rimini, Italy

Lakefest this Saturday!

I’m on at 1215 to open the show!

http://lakefest.co.uk/

It’s been a very busy few weeks in “Tim Towers”.  After wrapping things up out in Shropshire, we found a place in town. No mean feat. With some very serious help from some very dear friends, we set off, in a truck like a big blue snail. Seemingly with our lives on our backs.

Driving what was a clearly overloaded vehicle, with all of our belongings, down fast country roads was hair-raising to say the least.

On the other hand, the feeling of being at home hasn’t ever arrived so quickly. My Lady, she works like a cart-horse. -There’s a folk ballad in there somewhere, or a night in the dog house.

Bringing us nearly up to date, I’d like to share my thoughts on the loss of Flt Lt. Jon Egging. (Red 4). It’s always very moving to hear of the loss of life. Full stop.  This incident was no exception. I’ve always been a massive fan of the Red Arrows, from my days as an Air Cadet, and having met the display team of 1992.

I like the idea that the gruesome details would be kept from the prying eyes of the press, however, no privacy was afforded, instead, we see wreckage pictures. The death of an expert aviator (or anyone) ought to be treated sensitively. Instead, every newspaper and media company is running with it. Where is the dignity in this?

So what’s the deal with breaking in new boots?

Well, there are a few connections. One or two of them are tenuous, almost cliched metaphors, which I’ll explain presently.

I bought some boots, some weeks ago, from a surplus stores at Shrewsbury Market, I enjoyed telling the trader that I wanted to buy some “British Issue” assault boots. He asked me, “Are you a vintage person?” -(referring to the flea market in the corner). I replied “No Sir, I’m Thirty-One”.

Assault Boots. Note the stiff leather. Nice.

I proceeded to try-on these boots that he handed to me, pair-by-pair, too small, too big, too old, too smelly. etc.   -It wasn’t looking good.

Then they arrived. The boots I’d longed to own. Unissued, “brand” new, and lovely. -He asked me what I wanted them for, “Drill and Fieldcraft” I happily informed him.  “Royal Air Force?” he asked me.   -Well, flattered as I was that he’d mistaken me for one of Her Majesty’s Finest, I had to let him know that I’m a prospective Civilian Instructor in the Air Training Corps, and that I hoped to enter “Uniform Service” as such, hence the boots. 

Anyhow, long story short, I’ve been wearing them in for a few weeks now, and I have to say, they are the stiffest boots I’ve ever worn. And they make me happy.  -A little reminder for every time I lace them up, of what I’m hoping to do with them.

So, I’ve applied to be a C.I. in the A.T.C., forms and checks sent off, boots broken in, hair “high and tight” and and shirt pressed.  All I have to do now is wait for all that to clear, and wait for the O.K. from Wing Headquarters. If all goes well, I my be considered for Uniformed Staff, namely an Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch). A  childhood vision perhaps. But certainly a current aim.

I’ll talk more about the Air Training Corps in the future, and perhaps blog about the process of gaining a commission, should I be granted the honour.

A long and rowdy weekend…

Well, it all started on Saturday. After getting a little confused about stage/set times for the Carnage Klub gig, and the Robstock gig (On the same night), It was finally clear what needed to happen. I had to buy an energy drink. Not that I was happy about it!

The Carnage Klub gig started off with a Foyer-staged performance from Ephemetry. Which was frankly beautiful. A guy with a plugged-in acoustic guitar, not using a microphone to sing through, and I’m thinking, this isn’t going to work… -But it does, and it’s seriously lovely. Only improved by a soaring, yet melancholic violin to flesh out the sound further. This strange venue, a rehearsal space and studio steadily fills. And the taxi rank next door provide an awkward accompaniment on taxi band radio, and the odd car pulling through the crowd.

My set was sort of thrown together really. Practise room P.A. system, and a very full, and suitably hot room in which to play, made for an interesting experience. I wanted better sound, but I loved being the guy in the corner. It somehow felt more of a battle with myself to feel comfortable. I really enjoyed road testing new songs “For WIll” and “D and D”. Feel like I’m still getting to know them. It was lovely to see some old friends too.

I was done by 10pm sharp, and happily on the road to Wolverhampton (From Amblecote) to get to load in at Robstock. Upon arriving, I could here the musings from old school buddy Phil Jarvis, And was greeted by some of my oldest friends.

It was getting very late. In fact, a bottle or two of Merlot, had taken my eyes off the time, and the next thing I know, it’s 1am and the police are very politely pulling the plug on the whole thing!  Some very calm words from Sandeep Dhillon of Zelig, (who’d already wowed the crowd with their ever-tighter and somehow loosely slick sounds.) and the show was allowed to carry on, albeit “unplugged”.

So, around an hour later, and a chicken pitta (and more wine) I was summonsed to the “other” stage. (A chair in a gazebo). I was clearly instructed and guided by Dave Andrews, to play, and an audience assembled.  -It’s worth stating here, that I’ve never actually performed this way. On a chair, in a garden, and without the apparent security of a P.A. System and Sound Engineer. That said, I really enjoyed it. There was a little of “showing my oldest friends what I do” and a little of, “I’m drunk, I’m having a great time, and what the hell!”. After a few songs, Sandeep joined me on Cojon.  This was another variable that I hadn’t expected, yet really enjoyed. He’s quite a percussionist. After the set had de-generated to drunken Nirvana covers, that I don’t know how to play, I slipped away to sleep in the car. -I don’t know why, but needless to say, I was at the end of “my drink”.So, until the next Soiree.

Home of all things “Timothy”, here, you can catch up on his career, dates, and blog.

Also, there’s quite a bit about his friends and projects too.

Playing at The Rodewald Suite, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Enjoy.

Acts begin at 3:00pm

Village pub platform for the next wave of folk heroes

Open mic night at the Horseshoe Inn, an unassuming hostelry in rural Shropshire, so enraptured near neighbour Miles Hunt that it became the springboard for his new acoustic collective, Shared. Acting as producer and session musician, The Wonder Stuff frontman and his violinist partner Erica Nockalls nurture talents fresh and familiar, the pick of which feature on this joyous first “sampler”.There’s an unashamedly folk slant to proceedings (a form Hunt himself embraced as early as Golden Green on the Stuffies’ 1989 album Hup!), with Rob Dunsford taking a leaf out of Richard Thompson’s literate book on Dashboard Therapy and Don’t Go To The Other Side Of The World. Timothy Parkes would appear to be another 24-carat find, a Stourbridge boy with an innate understanding of sepia-toned Americana, while Dirty Ray’s poetic growl recalls early Tom Waits.
Hunt’s longtime friend Wayne Hussey weighs in with stripped-down solo renditions of Mission favourites Tower Of Strength and Trail Of Scarlet that adapt effortlessly to the folk template. More “name” acts are in the running for Shared’s second volume, but it may well the young buck discoveries that prove to be the most compelling.

Terry Staunton

Launching with a concert in Birmingham that featured themselves, Wayne Hussey, Nick Heyward, Roddy Frame, and Katel Keineg , the next step was to put together an album.

This is the result and, with the exception of three new numbers from themselves (Oars In The Water especially good) and their additions to three Mission songs (including Tower of Strength) reworked by Hussey at his home in Brazil, the artists are all unknowns.

Well perhaps not all of them. If the dark, growly throaty tones of Dirty Ray who provides the opener The Waiting Song, The Rain Song and The Mermaid’s Song, sound familiar, it’s because he’s actually Kevin Weatherill, lead singer with the criminally underrated Immaculate Fools and currently open mic host at The Horseshoe Pub.

Hunt’s fellow Stourbridgean, Timothy Parkes regularly opens for the duo’s acoustic shows and gets his own three track turn in the spotlight here with Witchcraft, featuring Nockalls on fiddle, particularly persuasive.

Soft voiced Scottish born Rob Dunsford cites Thompson and Martyn as prime influences and writes playful confessional songs that underline his traditional folk and blues inclinations, Don’t Go To The Other Side of the World revealing a spry sense of humour and Dashboard Therapy borrowing its tune from Froggy Went A’Courting.

The final ‘newcomer’ is Matthew Derrick, a South Wales based Bristolian who plays nifty guitar and whose three contributions, You’re My Heaven especially, bear spookily close witness to the fact he’s a big fan of Hunt and the Stuffies.

Intended as an ongoing recording and performance project, on the showing so far Volume 2 should be eagerly awaited.

SATURDAY 25TH JULY 2009

First up, a little background info. ….

I first encountered The Horseshoe Inn towards the end of 2007. My friend Timothy Parkes decided to drive over to their Monday night Open Mic session & I scrounged a lift. What greeted me was one of the most friendly, welcoming pubs I have honestly ever been too (and there have been hundreds, believe me) and some wonderful musicians, not to mention my old mate Miles Hunt who was standing at the bar (sorry, I just did). Since then, whenever I have been able to, I’ve read out some of my musings on those nights (I never refer to that stuff as ‘poetry’), stayed over a couple of times, made some great friends (particular mention here to licensees Mo & Bob) and never fail to have a brilliant time. I thank you all.

So, to ‘Shared’, a project inspired by Miles Hunt’s Monday night Horseshoe experiences, where he too has been impressed by the sheer quality of the musicianship on offer. This has resulted in an 18 track cd of 6 acts, including Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls, The Mission’s Wayne Hussey, plus four artists who are Horseshoe favourites. To launch the album and to celebrate Mo & Bob’s 5 year journey of musical discovery, a stage was set up just over the river opposite the pub itself, with an all day ‘Horsefest’ of entertainment.

Kicking off proceedings was the legend now known as ‘Dirty Ray’ (more about him later). Resplendent in shades, armed with maracas & “a bloody great big stick” (thank you ‘Nuts In May’) which he uses to pound the stage, Ray accapella-ly (???) asks us to ‘Bring ‘Em All In’ in his inimitably rough Waits-ian vocal style – a perfect intro. to an event called ‘Shared’ as I’m sure you’ll agree. Next up was Rob Dunsford, (who, along with Dirty Ray, I’ll come back to again), playing (his words) a couple of “kiddie pleasers” & another 2 solo acoustic numbers, setting the relaxed mood for the afternoon in style.

For the next few hours, I experienced a veritable smorgasboard of styles, from solo acoustic & electric (Wazza, Pete Keeley, Kate Lewis, Xenia, Jack Harris …), bands (The Pantomines, Cheap Magic, Babytwin …), all very different & offering original material & occasionally some well chosen covers. Not trying to single performances out, I have to give special kudos to Tony Skeggs, host of Wednesday night’s sessions at The Horseshoe, for some great sing-along covers & a heartfelt speech about the pub & the performers therein, The Daughters with Beth’s ever impressive vocal, recalling Martina Topley-Bird’s vocals on Tricky’s magnificent ‘Maxinquaye’ album, The French Sevens featuring little man Thom Morecroft’s surprisingly big vocal, and Mk Zero, a 3 piece band with some beautiful 3 part harmonies I certainly look forward to seeing again. Add some Samba drummers, a little dancing hither & thither, plus an afternoon tipple or three, and it was on to the evening’s ‘Shared’ artists.

As The Horseshoe’s ‘Be Nice Or Leave’ motto was placed on either side of the stage, not that anyone was about to misbehave, (it’s far too pleasant for unpleasantries here), it was time for Dirty Ray to stop compering & regale us with what he does best – heartfelt, blues inspired songs that hit the head & the heart. Starting with ‘The Waiting Song’, Ray immediately becomes the best act of the day, his voice & unique guitar technique marking himself out as a cut above most other solo artists I’ve ever seen. Quite why The Immaculate Fools (Ray’s band in a ‘former life’) were never really taken to this nation’s bosom has always been a bit of a mystery to me, but Ray’s approach these days is totally different. He’s older, wiser & able to use these life experiences and channel them into some beautiful music. Witness ‘The Rain Song’ as proof – the day’s highlight in my opinion. Finishing with ‘Moon On A Stick’ during which Ray’s hands become a blur, his knuckles banging out the rhythm as he batters his acoustic, his set is over, leaving me clapping like I’ve got a Duracell battery inserted somewhere.

Matthew Derrick had the hard task of following that, and if there were any nerves, they weren’t on show today. A quiet fellow from Maesteg, on stage Matthew exudes confidence, starting with ‘You’re My Heaven’ which one immediately is singing along with by the second chorus. Indeed, all of his songs do have a “Don’t I know this already?” feel about them, which is not to say they are sound-a-likes, they’re just so bleeding catchy. Continuing with ‘Head Up, Chin Down’ it’s obvious that Miles Hunt has been a big influence on young Matthew, but not in a plagiaristic sense. He has the same bile & lyrical approach, but it is delivered in a more throaty, aggressive style than Miles himself. Finishing his short set with ‘Not On My Cloud’, it’s been a pleasure to be introduced to Matthew’s songs & I can’t wait to see how his career develops. Buy the ‘Shared’ album & you too will be singing these tracks over & over again.

Rob Dunsford was next, this time augmented by accordion & female backing vocal & won me over with this approach far quicker than his earlier performance. The melancholic ‘Millionaire’ showcases his velvety voice perfectly, and in ‘Dashboard Therapy’ (“We drive all night & sleep all day” – as a friend observed, “How very nocturnal of you”), he has one of the day’s & albums highlights. Rob again has played at The Horseshoe many times & I most certainly look forward to catching him again soon (if he sticks around the area long enough, that is – please do, Rob).

Timothy Parkes won over Miles & Erica on his first performance here on that Open Mic night I previously mentioned, and has continued to gather support & fans through his intense performances. Indeed, he has become a regular support on Miles & Erica’s ‘never ending tour’, so it was somewhat inevitable that he too ended up on ‘Shared’. Tonight he treats us to ‘Looks Like Rain’, ‘Holes’ & Mo’s favourite, ‘All The White Horses’ (mine too, by the way), and is joined by Erica on ‘Witchcraft’, giving an already eerie track an added air of mystery. He’s also one of the most original singer/songwriters I’ve seen with his vocal style & different guitar tunings marking him out as something truly special to witness. Check him out whilst he’s still playing in small venues as he’s going places, trust me.

And so, to the headliners & organisers of ‘Shared’, Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls. Tonight, Miles eschews the usual ‘storytelling’ approach, possibly because it was getting late, and so it was all about the songs. And, what a catalogue Miles now has to choose from. The set starts with ‘Fill Her Up & Foot Down’, another Horseshoe ‘tribute’ from the current ‘Catching More Than We Miss’ album, and the duo continue through ‘Not An Exit’ highlights ‘The Cake’, ‘Corny But True’, and the Bono baiting ‘Back On The Charm Offensive’ (after which Miles can’t resist having a pop at manager David Jaymes for going to see U2 in the previous week). Other highlights in a set of highlights were, ‘D.W.I.’, old favourites from his solo career ‘Amongst The Old Reliables’ & ‘Four To The Floor’, plus the last single ‘Stay Scared, Stay Tuned’ “which nobody bought”. The thing is, Miles doesn’t have to bother the charts anymore, as the ‘never ending’ tour has proven, and doesn’t necessarily have to rely on The Wonder Stuff songs to get a decent reaction. I personally think that this kind of ‘freedom’ has given Miles space to breathe a little & has produced (certainly with the last two albums) songs that can sit alongside the first incarnation of The Wonder Stuff’s canon with ease. Talking of which … we get ‘Welcome To The Cheap Seats’, ‘Circle Square’, ‘The Animals And Me’ (which is a great performance tonight, shorn of the production embellishments on ‘Groove Machine’ I was never keen on), ‘Golden Green’, ‘Piece Of Sky’ before finishing off the evening with a charged ‘Mission Drive’ to fully deserved applause & cheers. Oh, and they did the one about the cow too.

So, how do I end this thing, then? Get the ‘Shared’ album – it’s a rare beast of a compilation in that it ALL works & flows together beautifully, and does not contain a single weak link. No mean feat that, but all of the artists involved are so impressive, it was never really going to fail. Big thanks to Mo & Bob for supporting all of the above, and providing me with a home from home, and to all of the above for a truly fantastic day. I’m up for the next one, you all should be too.

Bryan Taylor of Stourbridge.