Ruby Boy and the Rio

Justin Currie does not want any of his songs to be jokingly likened to Robbie Williams 'Angels'.

Also, he's a 'Posh Boy' from the West End and dreads doing Glasgow Gigs because Glaswegians aren't afraid to tell it how it is.

Justin Currie is a tall handsome chap, a Scottish music icon, in his forties, and commands the stage, letting the audience be 'the setlist', and remind him of lyrics he's 'forgotten' in songs from the past. He gives the crowd their pleasers, and even though it's a sit down gig a few of the fans are up for singing along and dancing, and aren't afraid to stand up if they want to applaud their hero. They like his new stuff too.

I very much enjoyed the gig; Justin has a fine voice and has some great songs. I really liked 'No, Surrender' from his new stuff of which I wrote down 'just surrender' since those were the ending lyrics. 'Last to Know', an old Del Amitri classic, sounds like quite a beautiful song - I must listen to it again., plus 'What is Love for? Really liked the drawings I did. Think I'm beginning to get the picture of what I'm currently trying to do. I guess I'm trying to capture a portrait of performing artists moved by the emotion, energy and spiritual experience of their own music/creations. Artists who are utterly immersed in their passion.

Do I want to draw every single musician I come across? The hazard is that I don't really know I don't like the music until I've started drawing it. I think I can draw a good picture from every musician if they put their heart and soul into the songs they're singing. I also think there's potential for me not to draw well when I find a band/musician I do particularly like/know because I'm so taken up with their music. I think that's it. So I should contact them later and say Hey, we must work together and get some great drawings?! The next project will be to draw pictures from musicians music before I see them perform it live, then during, then after from memory. There's SO many places I could take this...

Gerrard Love and Stephen Pastel were dj-ing tonight at the Cafe Rio. Some great tunes being played. Wish I could have stayed longer but bombed it for the bus. I've lost 2 brollies in the past week, but managed to run back and fetch the brightly coloured battered one that nearly became number 3. Got abuse for it by some bus drivers who reckon I must have nicked it because there's 'no way I would have consciously chosen it'. They all apologised to me when they left the bus, telling me they were only joking and it was 'a very nice brolly'. However I wasn't even offended in the slightest, I thought they'd been hilarious!

I just want to say, I've been listening to the cd that Gerry from Babygod gave me, and I really like it. I've been playing it a couple of times now, and it's really growing on me. Haven't quite figured out the words yet, but I will. Hope he's enjoying his holiday/tour. If you get a chance you should check him out. His cd music is great, though live by himself he's quite an entity. Definitely a good support for Mouse Eat Mouse's gig at Brel last weekend.

Tomorrow is the last day of the West End Fest, and I'm really looking forward to drawing at the Indie festival around the Goat tomorrow - Found are playing and they're brilliant. However, it all clashes quite unfortunately with 'Hey You Get Off My Pavement' which has got some splendid acts - Foxface, Camera Obscura, and a whole host of musicians that I don't know yet, but sound mightily intriguing, including Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lockpickers (Well Jake I know from his possessed performances with Uncle John and Whitelock and THEY were brilliant. Don't know what his new venture is like.) Will just have to chase them up individually.

Have a good one people whatever you choose to do, and may it be dry, warm, sunny and laced with good music!

Sidetracked

It's 2.32 in the morning. I've been hoodging it up on the internet, catching up with emails and spending way too much time on those of no importance; especially at this time of night!


Day went like this; went to bed at 3. Was supposed to be opening up Tchai Ovna, the great little tea house I work at partish timish, but ended up pulling a sickie because of THE most amazing migraine in the world. I was quite impressed. My brain was like clammy jelly, however still managed to forward a couple of illustrations to Scot Campus for their next edition which they seem to like. It's an enjoyable freebie I do, because I get to excercise the stupid cartoony side of me, and I love it. Puh Mouse may even make an appearance. If you're a student, grab a hold of the edition and see if you can find my two little cartoons.

Anyway, after extra kippage time and a shot of painkillers I felt ready to cycle into town. However, en route to Tchai Ovna, at the busy junction beside Gorbals Parish Church, my back wheel decided to become unhinged MID GREEN LIGHT no less!! Thought I was a goner, but I managed to crab it back to the pavement for some befuddled 'Can't believe this' gesticulations of helplessness and 'my work is never going to believe this one!'. Thankfully it was all good, they didn't boot me out the door when I eventually arrived exactly 2 1/2 hours later than planned.

Work was frantic as normal - mostly getting back into the flow of things after a few days off and a heed like a pack o' mince. Managed to get some warm up drawing done before the gig tonight, and was really glad I did actually because I'm mighty chuffed with the drawings and the fact that I 'experienced' these particular bands.


Dananananakroyd.

The absolutely insane 'jump up and down, crawl/hang off the ceiling and any stage appendages ' Dananananakroyd (is that too many an an an's?) and the almighty 'screech wail stop and thrash ' of the kooky Japanese band 'Melt Banana' were the bands in question. I had been reccommended to see them by Foxface drummer D.John Ferguson who regaled me with the story that M.B.'s drummer apparently walks around with holing weights all day so that when he comes to play his hands are flying all over the place. Which intrigued me to draw and I'm so glad I did - I got some of the best stuff I've done. See attached.



Melt Banana

I also managed to get the whole band to sign my drawing which was really cool. They seemed to like it too!


I later got a taxi home collecting my poor little abandoned bike en route. Now it's time for a kip yes? Got a 9am meeting to get to. Really looking forward to a good normal sleep one day.

Flashback - Cathures at the Kibble Monday 16 June

Cathures, at the Kibble Palace, Botanic Gardens

I had to choose between drawing Teenage Fanclub doing a more rocking set, or the gentle atmospheric experience of Cathures, singing choral works from Greig to traditional scottish psalms. My gut feeling went with the silvery setting of light and airy voices in a glass house during a slightly overcast sunset.

Hvad est du dog skjen (How lovely Thou art, yes lovely) from Fire Salmer (Four Psalms) Op. 74 featuring a male soloist was positively exuberant. If that's the right word. I wanted to say lovely, but obviously my vocab is lacking if that's all I can come up with. Exquisite springs to mind too. Katy the conductor has done a very nice job with her singers as the Kibble is a difficult venue to judge for the musicians themselves but back with the audience the accoustics are great.
It was poorly attended but those that did gave a hearty applaud (well as hearty as it can get in the hushed formal atmosphere of a classical choral concert!)

I very much appreciated my first experience of a concert in such a beautiful setting and hope to do more. Was even lucky enough to catch the last hour of the Teenage Fanclub's rocking set at the Oran Mor though couldn't draw. However one of the songs inspired me to draw something that I saw when I closed my eyes. Funnily enough the title of the song was apparently 'Every picture that I paint' from their first cd A Catholic Education. Intriguing.

More to develop on that I think...

Mouse Eat Mouse at Brel

Quoted as being one of the 50 best Scottish bands of all time by The List, Mouse Eat Mouse was top on my agenda tonight. Andrew and John are the only members left from the original outfit, Andrew being the front man/beatpoet/gentle preacher/biting observer. It was fun drawing him and his various expressions/characteristics as he rode the poetry infused music. Or is that music infused poetry? You can look him up at www.myspace.com/mousehq It's definitely worth a listen times over. "..like Chumbawamba doing John Cooper Clarke in Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting..." The Daily Record (is that how you spell chumbawamba?)

Supporting acts were Mike and Solveig, and Babygod. Mike and Solveig's set was very sweet and engaging but although each piece was gently magical, (opening with the aptly named 'Spiral') there weren't many of them due to a late sound check and Mike being unfamiliar with the guitar he'd borrowed not having a replacement for the string that broke on his own one, time slipping by like an impatient and mischievous pixie. These two you can find via Mike's own myspace http://www.myspace.com/mikehastingspendulums

Then there was the raw attitude in the lyrics and music of Gerry/Babygod who's now off on his accoustic holiday around Britain. He's got quite a stage presence and was a great start to the night. Check him out at http://www.myspace.com/babygod

All in all a very enjoyable night though short and sweet with powerful messages through prose/song/subtle wizardry. I very much enjoyed all of them, I thought it was a great lineup, and hope to catch them all again sometime somewhere.

Teenage Fanclub, and Scotland's Mardi Gras Parade

What a fantastic Parade! What costumes, dancers, puppets, performers, colours, madness, wow! The giant caterpillar that kept bending down to taste the crowd, the many helium balloons that floated off without their children attached, the tasty smells that permeated the entire closed off route, the throngs of sombrero/fez/furry cowboy hat toting public, the stalls, the henna tattooists, the paintings on railings (which I still actually haven't seen up close - I should be there selling, no wait, I should pawn the services of some young sibling of mine to do my selling for me.

Highlights - some amazingly agile capoeira dudes, particularly the chap that jumped down the road sideways on his hands!!! His stomach was like brick work, I'm not kidding, and then later in the park, there was a couple just hurling themselves through time and space like the martial arts heros in east asian films, minus strings attached. Then there were the bee people - with men in bee costumes, furry spikey sting and spikey tits attached. The Burlesque/Cabaret Dancers, the Carnival dancers, the lily pad brigade, the graceful futuristic girls on stilts, the mighty samba bands from last night. There was a lot that impressed me. Anyway, it's 2.31am. I will write more as a review, but suffice to say it was an amazingly sunny day, great parade, ended with some lovely music from Snow Goose and Teenage Fanclub at Oran Mor. Lovely to draw them and see Norman with his band. (Also lead singer of Snow Goose is definitely someone to keep an eye on!)

Quick mention to Stephen who saved my space in the car park above Somerfield - it really was a great space for seeing the Carnival, and thank you!

The Mardi Gras enters Byres Road

Capoeira in the Park

Dancing to Samba Ya Bamba in the Park, 'After Carnival' Party

Teenage Fanclub, Sunday 15th June 2008. The Accoustic Session

West End Festival - Saturday - Samba Showcase - QMU

Well after tonight, I just want to learn how to dance like a Carnival dancer with glittery frond thongs and big feathers, while also being able to percussion my ass off, be theatrical and be part of a Samba team. Oh yes, if you didn't boogie your ass off tonight at the Scottish Samba Showcase at the QMU, then you're a cold hearted individual. The theme was definitely of the theatrical/burlesque persuasion with a good amount of cleavage, flesh, feathers, fish net stockings...and that was just the men!

A great night again, thundersome beats, eclectic little instruments, and even more eclectic musicians. Apart from the first couple of acts, the rest had all rehearsed that little bit more of a show, the following one trying to outdo the one before. Samba Ya Bamba with their 42 members, brass section, drums, percussion and rappers (one of them being the 'tallest man in the world' Martin) were definitely the biggest, but not the boldest - although not true of their costumes! The second last band from London - I'll need to find out their name, looked pretty bland when they started their set until two carnival dancers came on stage and jiggled, hot footed and shook their thangs. I could have drawn them for hours! Beautiful creatures.

However, then there was the arse kicking performance of the french band Houba with their Mad Max red and black style punk goth outfits and big metallic looking drums complete with scary big haired skull logo.

Houba, the French samba band from the deep south.

Yep a grand night, and good practice for the carnival tomorrow - for me and them!

West End Festival Officially Opens!

Wilcommen, Bien Venue, Welcome...

The Fantastical Orkestra Del Sol

I can't stand it. I've moved from the wilds of Oban, to the sprawling metropolis of Glasgow, and there's just too many things to draw.

Like last night, for the official opening of the West End Festival there was at least two prominent choices of what you could do - Quadlibet - Strictly Mozart at the Kibble Palace (What a Setting!) or Orkestra Del Sol in the quirky dark depths of Oran Mor. What to do, what to do...Well, I chose a band I'd already drawn before, the Balkan/Euro/Afro-Caribbean stylee Big Band theatro lunico of Orkestra Del Sol.

Hopefully attached illustration can give a hint at the buzz, energy, madness, and downright conga pogo-ing fun, although it might not suggest how slick and finely practiced these maverick musickos are. Because they are. Calypso Collapso has to be one of my favourites, but it's up there with all of them. Since they're closed policy to any new hopefuls, their group are a much more in tune with movement, thinking and dynamics than the 2 years I drew them before. The audience had mosied in with the direct impish notion that some feverish dancing and fun was to be had, and tonight, it was.

Roastit Bubbly Jocks, 450 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, 0141 339 3355

Roastit Bubbly Jocks Restaurant - Ceramic lettering by Julia Smith - www.deepfired.net

Well since the fantabulous opening at the restaurant Roastit Bubbly Jocks, with flamboyant scrumptious canapes, much wine, sunshine, and a jovial atmosphere, I'm now interested to see what the relaxed well catered for diner thinks of my art while their eyes have time to roam.

We're in the May edition for the West End News, and will be for June as well under the fab little bistro that is the more diverse but totally apt venue for my current expo 'A Taste of Soep', (named with tongue in cheek...) I found it through my lovely friend Mark who took me there for dinner one night and I was in tastectasy! A most delightful setting with candles and nonmatching cutlery, licenced with a good selection and corkage fee for any wine you bring in. Excellent food, friendly service and most importantly - it's top class contemporary stylish Scottish flavour.
The lettering of the name outside is made in tartan ceramic by Scottish based artist Julia Smith. Very nice touch! (Details above)

The Exhibition is on until the end of June to co-incide with the West End Festival - try and pick up a leaflet from inside the restaurant giving you 15% discount off your next meal there. Do phone beforehand though as it's notorious for being booked up fast. You can also visit during the day but again phone to check they haven't closed for an afternoon break.