Having a clear out!

Sometimes a little job can become mammoth. Yes admit it - you've experienced that feeling too. I decided to sort out my home work space today. School starts again next week and it's time I buckled down to some serious preparation. I tried working on the sofa in a chilled kinda way, but Jack playing with his toys sounded to me like a steam train belting through the room. I sought solace at the kitchen table, but the sun was so bright I thought my screen might melt. So there was only one thing left. Return to my office!!!! 

It's been called many things but the office seems to be the name that sticks. It's my music room, my office space, my library. The place where I go to work. The only problem is it's also the box room. Have you ever tried focusing on paperwork when all around you is clutter. I find that I can't even begin to concentrate if my mind is cluttered. It's funny how we allow stuff through the day to block our thoughts and cloud our judgments. This is how the room makes me feel. So today I began the declutter.

What a bad idea. Step 1; take all the boxes out. I didn't think that would take long, but where do you put them? I know the bedroom on our bed. So the bed is now covered with boxes. Step 2; tidy up the room. I'm sure I had a bin in there the last time I looked. It seems that I'd been using the carpet as a make shift refuse collection zone. So now I've got a bed covered in boxes and a floor that looks like the aftermath of a hurricane. So much for an easy job. I finally found the carpet which led me to step 3. Sort out the boxes. I figured that if I outed most of the stuff in the boxes then I could reduce how many boxes there were in the room. Good logic - less boxes, less clutter, more concentration. 6 hours later I'd only managed to dispose of 1 box.

By now I'm getting a little tired and incredibly irritable. The end didn't seem anywhere in sight. This is where simple words cut through the chaos. "Can you clear the bed I need a lie down" Tamara was also getting tired and it was getting late, so woefully I set about rebuilding my cluttered box room. However, strangely everything seemed to begin to piece together. It was as if all the extra time I'd spent attending to the little details which seemed to go nowhere suddenly saved time in buckets. The one less box made all the difference in the world. I'd managed to empty the biggest box which meant that all the other boxes pieced together like a jigsaw and took up half the space. A nice throw over them and all of a sudden I had an office again.

I learnt a lot from my very frustrating day today. Working hard and being patient with the little things led to great reward. Very much like all the little things in life that make us who we are may be as nothing to us, but who knows how each little thing may impact on a loved one or someone you meet. 

Time for a change

I've been listening to John Mayer a lot lately. Noticeably the John Mayer Trio and have been more than inspired. I was taken by many things. Obviously his outstanding gift as a musician with ann unbelievable mastery of the guitar. But also little things. Riffs. Melodies. Confidence. And I was surprised that his vocal range was "ordinary", I mean that in a nice way. So many singers sing so high and to emulate them is virtually impossible without tight trousers! It got me thinking.

I've always loved the blues and always wanted to play bass in a blues band. Somehow I never quite made it into one. I played in 60's - 90's band and touched on the blues, but never played get down and dirty blues. I love the sound of the crunch guitar; clean and yet edgy. So I thought I wonder if any of my songs would benefit from a remake in a blues style. The prime choice has been Jesus Calls You because I reworked it a couple of years ago to make it more funky. The chorus and prechorus were the biggest changes along with a funky riff. I even performed the version at a couple of my acoustic gigs, but it didn't sound quite right. So with help of Ash Wilson I had another look at it. 

Well I spent about 2 hours practicing the revised version then set about recording it. The only problem I ended up with a monster blister so the guitar playing is a bit ropey. However, I decided to post the song on the website only in DEMO form just to gauge peoples reaction to the concept even though the guitar needs re-recording. Click here to go to the page and if you feel inspired please post a comment here.

Summer update

I hadn't realised just how much I'd been neglecting my website until today. I guess life has been busy. Well that's an excuse we all use, but in actual fact it has been. It seems that most of my life is consumed with work these days, which is in many ways a good thing, but, equally, it's worrying to think that I'm racing through life often missing the important bits. I find it difficult to have the energy to spend with Tamara and Jack, I know I can be irritable, I often feel weary. It's at limes like this that I should be slowing down and looking for a break. Instead I'm always planning the next step.

One of the most amazing things that Tamara does is to read me like a book. She knows when I've pushed myself too far and when she spots a burnout stage she "tells me off". Well to be fair she tries many other more subtle ways of dropping hints before the full blown - STOP! Summer holidays is one of those times when she insists on at least one week of NO WORK. I'm not even allowed to think about it. So this year we went to Haven's Thorpe Park in Humberston. What a fantastic break. We played at holiday makers every day and night and had a thoroughly excellent time. I admit I was a bit sick of seeing Bradley BEar and Rory the Tiger by the end of it, but to see the delight on Jacks face made up for any negative thoughts.

So holiday over and it's back to reality - or is it. This holiday seems to be gently stretching before us and is still very relaxed, and most enjoyable. I built a gate for the fence I recently made - and it works!!!! We've been to the cinema twice in a week. Been shopping, spent time with family, helped out at a Christening and it's still only half way through. Coming up soon is a visit to my mum, which will be another welcome break. Along the way the way there will be other trips too.

Very soon it will be all over, but for now I'm enjoying the ride. I guess I'll do some planning pretty soon too. We have some big things coming up, not least a visit from my good friend J. Brian Hill, but that's another story. So for now I'll sign off. TTFN