Attachment Theories releases on Monday, October 20th... then on Friday 24th, THIS!

The Alsager Music Festival, now a biggie!

July 12th-2014

I've been fortunate enough to play the Alsager Music Festival for the past few years and it's grown every year, this year seeing it really step up to a whole new level in every respect, great to see! 

One of the best aspects about all this is that for original acts like myself and many others playing the event, the audience here were a really enthusiastic and attentive, friendly bunch. A lovely experience. I can't help feeling that so many venues which stick to the old ways of putting on cover-only acts (many of which play the same hits as each-other) are missing out on this increasing mood for original sounds and new music. There seems to be an appetite for it everywhere. I was joined once again by the talented purcussion maestro Daniel J. Logan.

The talent in terms of the other acts I got to see was outstanding, please check out my recommendations below the photos! 

The big crowd enjoyed great weather and great music!

Dan (left) played with 2 other acts as well as me on the acoustic stage. He even dodged a football at one stage, without missing a beat! Thanks to Dave Myatt for the photo.

The inimitable Hayley Strangelove joined us for the final song with her daughter Cherry, surely the youngest performer at the festival! Thanks to Dave Myatt for the photo.

Recommended artists I managed to see, check these out;

Hayley Stangelove; She and Paul Senior's (together they are Baxter) crowd-pleasing brilliance seemed to almost start a new religion.

Sam Hollyman - of The Voice fame, but here doing some really quite rootsie, country-ish stuff with Dan and Narn. Brilliant!

Dirty Money No 5 - Kind of Funky, scratchy, groovy ska with ace musicianship and vocals. You can't not like it!

Sea based Turtles - We're deep in the funk here, you like funk? You'll love these!

Dayve Dean - Dayve has made a welcome return, bringing his heartfelt, melodic and tuneful brilliance back to the live circuit!

Recording preparation 1. Meet the producer.

I already know the producer for my soon-to-be-started solo record, one Mr Dan Logan, illustrious sound engineer, musician and producer of the great and the good at Orchard Studios. It is Dan who mixed and co-produced All these things right now by The Blue Yellows and also once made a fairly tipsy appearance with us on stage, tambourine in hand, at a Christmas show we did. 
Dan is a multi-instrumentalist but perhaps best known as a talented and really interesting, distinctive percussionist. I'm hoping he'll be playing at some of my solo gigs this summer too (at which point I'll have to stop calling them "solo" gigs I guess).

So, I know Dan well anyway but a meeting was required to go over the plan, so much as there was one, Dan's suggestions as to what are realistic ways to use our time and resources in the studio in the most optimal way, artistically. 

This of course involved real ale, and Radley.

Dan, the-man-with-the-plan's Pooch Radley joined us.