A biography is the kind of thing you get someone objective to write for you or at least the kind of thing you write about yourself in the third person. I’ve done that before and to be honest I’ve never felt comfortable with it. It feels like lying or bigging oneself up in the vain hope that no one will realise that this long list of achievements was not written by you but by your admiring public. Of course they know it was you so why hide it?
I’ll be honest with you. I spent my mid teens in a pub called ‘The Globe’ in a village called Guisbrough singing songs from the nineties (as it was the nineties and the girl band phenomenon had past me by). I had my first two gigs there and they paid me in Diamond White and nice words.
When I moved to Newcastle in 2000, they had an acoustic society which I joined and then ran as president in my final year (president? What a bizarre term). I systematically introduced the use of minute taking and hard back membership cards and had a lot of fun but mainly, I just wanted people to come out of halls and play. By this point, I’d been introduced to Acoustic Circus who were kind enough to give me a go. And I am still going because they gave me a spot on the committee and I like to think of myself as the eye candy when I have some slap on.
Over the years then I’ve played with 2farnorth, acoustic angel and insangel amongst others. I’ve also enjoyed some playing and talking on the wireless at BBC Radio Cleveland with Bob Fischer, the voice of Teeside and got some kicks from playing at the Sage, Carling Academy and The Cluny. I just love the venues because it thrills me to think of who else has played on the same stage.
I never considered recording anything until one gig where I was the only person who didn’t have a CD. Its not that I didn’t want to, I just didn’t know how. When I received 4 hours of studio time for my birthday I was made to and ended up with my first EP. I recorded RED the year after which took a weekend and I paid for it partly in bags of change. Nonetheless, it hasn’t let me down and it made it to number 31 in the itunes blues chart in February 2007.
There was a period after RED of 3 years before I recorded anything else for one simple reason; I didn’t have any money. ‘Skies Burnt and Lessons Learnt’ took over a year to record because it was such a mammoth task and it includes the musical abilities of 11 people. It was daunting and I constantly kept running to the loo but I’m happy with how it worked out. ‘Days in Diamond White’ the compilation had one reason behind it only. To get me independent again. It was a way of distributing the two E.P.s again without a label. I’m not even sure if I want a label. I am not Jam.
I can’t really define what I do and I’m not saying that to sound like a jumped up tortured muso. I’m not tortured, just thoughtful. When I mention that it has elements of folk, blues and celtic music I guess that’s true but I’ve never stuck to one type of anything in my life apart from hair colour. I write what strikes a goose pimple in myself and like it if someone else gets a bump too but its all real life. Relationships, people and situations interest me (as does food) and so I write for therapy and to try and make something pretty out of confusion. I spend a lot of my life confused.
I also enjoy the following: Whiskey, fish nets, a good pair of trainers, red hair dye, nose studs, poker and a larf. Ha!