Cat Burrito

I'm concerned that it has an aftermarket pickguard and he hasn't clearly stated that this doesn't affect the playability at all!?!

Three weeks ago, a friend from another band messaged me to say "how do you fancy learning 35 songs for a gig in 3wks?" Sure, why not, I thought. Perhaps I will make it harder for myself by doing some on my upright bass! Here we are - live on Saturday to a private function in North Hampshire. As Hannibal from the A-Team said, "I love it when a plan comes together".

I can see arguments for both. Personally I prefer passive as it is what I have predominately always had. My worry is the flat battery is one more thing to go wrong. A bit pessimistic, I know! A lot of the music I have played over the years has been more old school so passive had the sound I was after BUT all that said, I have nothing against active stuff and can certainly see the appeal.

Deadlight Dance did a quick turn at one of the local open mic nights, as we have been a bit light on bookings. We played two off of our new EP, one of the singles off of the debut album and ended on Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart. I got a genuine laugh for describing us as "Wiltshire's darkest boy band". The low point was a very drunken lady congratulating me on my Halloween costume that I had to explain was actually just how I look. A good standard of acts last night and we are both experienced enough to pay the other acts the courtesy of watching and supporting them.

I played Steel Paws at the weekend in Sheffield. I'm over 3wks into a bug that is not shifting and my desire to drive up from Wiltshire and back in a day wasn't great. I brought my trusty Hofner Verythin bass and Blackstar U700 head. I was delighted that the festival cab was a Blackstar 4x10. From the second I plugged in, it sounded great. I'd not met the drummer before but our three piece sounded great. The stage manager afterwards told us we were the most professional band of the night. There were loads of pro photographers there but I am still waiting on the photos. This image is from the previous show but I figured worthy of a share. Pic courtesy of Nick Ashton Photography.

I have seen the Mission a few times recently and they completely get the importance of playing the songs people want to here now. Vastly superior to seeing the Sisters of Mercy these days and I never thought I'd say that. I think it helps having Craig and Simon back in the band, 75% of the classic lineup.

Patrick bought an EHX Mole pedal from me. Smooth and prompt transaction with no fuss.

When I was at school, a lot of the girls could name John Taylor from Duran Duran. Likewise, Gary Tibbs from Adam & the Ants. And a few could name Craig Logan from Bros. I'm not sure that this would be the case now but it was at the time.

We played an intimate acoustic set, mostly on two mandocellos last night in Old Town, Swindon. We supported Canute's Plastic Army who were both talented and very personable. Lots of peop!e came who had seen us before at Swindon Shuffle last year. I am 5 1/2 months alcohol free now and I think it was a strong contender for my personal favourite show of 2024.

I don't have a fancy poster but this is my social media meme for Deadlight Dance supporting Canute's Plastic Army at The Tuppenny in Old Town, Swindon in 7 days time.

I've never done this but it turned out that my ex-wife did for me! 🙈 I think doing so would cure a lot of GAS.

I think there is a overly romanticised view of drugs when it comes to rock 'n' roll. Over the years I have worked with a handful of drug users and they are generally a pain in the **** - not as creative as they think they are and pretty unreliable. In the 90s, we had a guitarist who was permanently smoking weed ("only weed") and he'd have to give me his money to cover rehearsals at the start of the month or he'd spend it on weed. We'd then get to middle to later in the month and he'd be calling me up asking for a loan. Every month it was the same, we'd debate it for an hour with me reminding him of what happens every time, only for history to repeat - he'd then get angry with me when I asked for it back "it was just a fiver, not a tenner", only to eventually remember that I wasn't a liar and it was as I had written it down. Unsurprisingly, I don't miss that! These days I work with a few musicians who have issues around alcohol and I have to say it is the same. Some really talented players junking 1/2 a day of recording because they listen to the play back. I find it staggering when good musicians practice all the time and then when they go out, they blow it for themselves. I hasten to add most musicians I work with these days are focussed and creative. Have a pint, smoke a spliff (if you have to) but just keep your act together!

I stopped playing for 4 years at the age of 27yrs old because I thought I was too old. It sounds crazy now but a lot of us did back then. I do think things change with age. I have enjoyed playing more since I started again and the last 20yrs of band life have been incredible. I am starting to feel I am too old to be going up and down the country for one off gigs with a band that I am not wild about. I didn't feel like that 5yrs back.

I'd like to say yes but it was probably more like The Count from Sesame Street teaming up with the Banana Splits!?! This version is great, very 70s soul.

Having had a time out for Nick's (other half) wife's (again, other half) 50th, my little Gothic duo have finally returned. I spent the time off getting reacquainted with my upright bass. We did two hours of 80s alternative / gothic songs, peppered with a few originals from our forthcoming EP and debut album. I was bass guitar free so played mandocello, mandolin, guitar on two, upright bass on five and sang. And I bet this doesn't get typed too often but Sisters of Mercy "This Corrosion" on upright bass? Yeah, we went there! The attendance was a little lighter than our regular shows but hands down, I thought it was the best we had ever played in this format.

Last night I was up in Nottingham at Billy Bootleggers for an all dayer festival with my rocky 3 piece. I felt a bit uncomfortable at first as I was never much of a heavy metal guy. I got chatting to some young police officer outside because she thought the cool 50s American car outside might be mine. I said it wasn’t and neglected to offer a look at my Peugeot 107 which was just around the corner. I decided after the shambolic sound of the last show I would channel my inner Johnny Thunders / Lords of the New Church and just go for it! Best gig I think the band has done - loud, sweaty and I felt we meant it. I have one more show with them this year and will be free to focus on my goth duo for this year 🎉🖤

He’s been with me 17 1/2yrs. On a darker note, I wanted him in the video whilst he was still around. On a lighter note, he actually provided vocals on track 5 of the EP.

I've shared a few of these over the last couple of years and been humbled by many of the nice comments you have made. My duo "Deadlight Dance" is essentially two old friends who met in Sixth Form in 1989 and wound up in a fun but (if I am being honest) slightly dodgy Sixth Form Goth band. Fast forward to lockdown / Covid and we decided to have another stab at things. We are two weeks shy of releasing a 5 track EP (streaming free everywhere, so I'm not asking for your money!) via Ray Records. The EP has a running theme of characters from books (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Orwell, for example). We really mixed up the instrumentation this time so there is only conventional bass guitar on two tracks - this one is bass vi. "Montag" is the conflicted fireman from Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451", which is what inspired this track. The guest star around 1 minute 55 seconds might make a few of you smile. Anyway, have a look. Whilst I'm not asking for cash (there is a Bandcamp page, in case anyone is worried I'm skipping meals though!), I'm more than happy to put this out for likes, subscribers and shares! 🙏😺

The next show for my little duo that I have with my friend. We called it "The Next Chapter" simply because we are about to release an EP called "Chapter & Verse", inspired by characters from books we like.

I can't recall if I ever mentioned it but back in the 80s, I was in a short lived school band called Nine Lives. My profile picture is the cartoon version of me circa 1989. It's a great name and I'm surprised it hasn't been more widely used.

I'd always been a bass player but started working with a singer-songwriter around 2005. I felt guilty just adding bass to his recordings so bought a mandolin (I figured the strings were set up similarly) and started to add a whole range of instruments I couldn't play, from 4 string banjo to lapsteel. Upon reflection, I bit off more than I could chew. At this time I started playing guitar more seriously and actually went for lessons with the instruction "make me not sound like a bass player when I play guitar". They achieved that and I had a couple of occasions where I have played guitar in bands with varying success. Over lockdown I got much, much better on mandolin and I have now added mandocello to my list of instruments. Just recently I have been learning simple drum and keyboard lines. My next release is a 5 track EP and I only play standard bass guitar on 2 of the songs. Looking back, I think I tried to run before I could walk but fast forward to 2024 and I am definitely a better musician and better on the bass as a result. I'd still say bass is my go to instrument and the one that feels effortless but I have a lot of fun with the other stuff.

Yes and yes. Noel first saw it back when he was a roadie for Inspiral Carpets.

Respect to the Swindon Advertiser who have demanded that Oasis come to Swindon because the town inspired the name. I expect the management will be kicking themselves at such an obvious oversight!?! Swindon's finest music journalism since they briefly ran an online story saying the Motorhead gig in Swindon wasn't cancelled just because the band had lost the bass player! (yes, true story)