Last night I went to the Eel Pie Club in Twickenham where Bob Hall was joined by Top Topham for another evening of nostalgia. I define nostalgia as anyone who has been around as long as me and is still playing blues. Other people who say that nostalgia’s not what it used to be, are thereby proved wrong. Of course, they may have another definition, but I like to get personal about some things and however you define it, I’ve been around long enough to have picked up some nostalgia.
Category Archives: Diary
Live at 100 Club
Yesterday I met Mel Wright, the Waydown drummer and original Shakey Vick Big-City Blues Band drummer to check out an old live recording which we did about 19 years ago at The 100 Club in Oxford Street. Actually I didn’t meet him directly.
King's Head Gig
Last Monday’s gig at the King’s Head was noticeable for the absence of the drummer, Dino Coccia. We carried on without him and later found out that his car had broken down. The joys of the open road, once again. Incidentally, Dino will be away in the States from the 14th of April, the day after our Inn On The Green gig. He’s going to do some gigs with bassist Steve York, who is now living in Mexico. Afterwards, Dino will stay with friends in Los Angeles and returns on the morning of our May 5th gig which will be at the King’s Head. That’s as long as the plane doesn’t break down too.
Location, Location
As I expected, the Grand Junction gig was the last blues gig as the brewery are “cutting down on the music budget”. How this spokesperson (with such erudition) isn’t in politics, I’ll never know. “It ain’t working, sod off!” would have done the trick for me. There were a few more people there than for the last couple of weeks, but never enough to make it pay. However, I did almost enjoy the gig and we got paid once I’d produced the invoice like a rabbit out of a hat.
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The Swinging Sixties.
Have spent the last couple of evenings seeing how the postwar generation celebrate their sixtieth birthdays. First off was Diz Watson partying at the Oval Tavern on Tuesday night and transporting a great supportive crowd to pre-Katrina New Orleans with his vocals and piano, brilliantly supported by double bass and percussion. Later Jamie Rowan did a guest spot and I remembered to book him for my next Inn On The Green gig, as Al Vincent is unavailable next month.
Gigging Around
Had another enjoyable visit to the Oval Tavern in Croydon yesterday. This is my favourite gig because the interval music is always great to listen to. It’s a vinyl freak’s delight and although I’m not one (a delight, I mean) I really do enjoy Graeme’s selection. Great blues and a great audience. Had a chat with John O’Leary, who admitted that his was an Irish name and that he actually had a Paddy’s night gig, as distinct from my St Patrick’s evening blues gig at the King’s Head. I’m not sure whether John said he was going to be doing “Danny Boy”, but I certainly am not.
Park Royal
Have decided to go and annoy the Dan Smith Band who are playing tonight at the Grand Junction Arms in Acton Lane. Jon T-Bone Taylor and Jim Mercer are in the band so it’s alright to get personal. The gig is a jazz gig on Sundays but they are trying blues on Thusday nights. We’re there next week and I did show up there for a while last week, where I bumped into one of my guitarists, Al Vincent, also checking the place out. It seems that some people had understood it to be a jam, but that was not so. I believe a couple of harp players did sit in with the band, which also included T-Bone, who is booking the bands there.
Change of plan
Having finally decided to go to the Cyril Davies gig after all, I suddenly got all the signs that my remaining good retina was about to detach once more. Having just got over another angioplasty where yet another tube was inserted in a coronary artery, and still suffering from sore throat and a cough to kill for, this was the last thing I needed.
Old Times
Timo (Yes that is the correct way to spell it, he reminds me) got back to his hotel okay the other night. He is in Spain now but is threatening to come back to London this weekend and is asking if there is anything on blueswise.
Last Night's Gig
Did a duo gig with Gordon Smith in Fulham last night. Gordon tells me he is going to do some more recording for Mike Vernon, who is re-releasing Gordon’s Blue Horizon albums. The gig went fine as usual, with both of us sharing the vocals and Gordon managing to include a couple of guitar instrumentals in his classy style. He is so easy to work with, though normally I dislike duo work.