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The JUNE 2002 Diary Entry...

SATURDAY 22 June 2002

Tonight I'm taking part in a LOST THE PLOT gig in the heart of Northamptonshire. It's a bit of a laugh really, a sometime rock band that plays about six times a year (if that) featuring my Gizz on Guitar, Del on drums, Caroline on Vocals and yours truly on bass (sometimes!) The club we're playing at is called Mollys and its an odd one. Mainstream pop music on the sound system with a happy, cheery, club DJ to get everybody singing along, and then a kicking rock band onstage around 10:30. Weird, weird, weird!

To make it weirder and scarier, we haven't actually seen each other for about two months and what with house renovations, trips to the US and a whole host of other reasons, there's been no time to rehearse. Frankly, I'm scared!

To make matters worse, by the time I eventually arrive, only half the pa has arrived and band members are looking somewhat nervous. My chirpy humour is greeted with stony silence which only makes me find the whole situation funnier.

Despite all this, the gig is a laugh. When we actually start playing, the sound is fresh and tight and a good time is had by all. Halfway through one of the songs, Del's bass pedal collapses but he somehow manages to carry on playing while carrying out running repairs. What a star!

A jolly good time was had by all, and I hope we get a chance to do it again someday.

TUESDAY 4 June 2002

A second Bank Holiday on the trot so Don and I are working out a few ideas at his spacious Cambridgeshire residence. We're thinking of doing a few gigs for a laugh during the Summer and Autumn (and beyond) while there's not much GRIEF SOCIETY activity and so his mate Paul's along playing some mighty impressive drumming and making us laugh. We ran through an Alien Ant Farm song, a Pearl Jam number and an Incubus track. Don sings a Nirvana track and looks in considerable pain while he's doing it. What a hoot.

Later in the day I finally get to have a chat with Steve who tells me a hilarious story about his attempts to finish his house move at about four o'clock in the morning. I guess he just couldn't wait for Stef and I to give him a hand. Bless!

SUNDAY 2 & MONDAY 3 June 2002

Oh goody, I've got jet-lag. I hate jet lag more than I hate almost anything else (except those "Warning contains hot liquid" messages that have started to appear on take away coffee mugs. I mean, does anybody drink COLD coffee?). The (all too brief) Grief Society US trip was a big success and to everybody who was nice to me while I wondered around looking tired - Thank YOU! It was all a bit of a mad rush to get around and talk to people so Apologies to everybody I didn't get to say hello to and to all those people that didn't get advance notification of the trip.

Monday's a Bank Holiday here in the UK so I've spent a fair chunk of morning in bed trying to relax and work out where (and who) I am. The afternoon is spent putting the finishing touches to a new acoustic song. It's taken about two months to finish this one off and I'm working in the little studio that's now an almost permanent feature of my house. There's wires and boxes everywhere and a friend of mine recently commented that she'd never seen so much stuff crammed into a single house. I guess she's right but why pay studio rates when you can work on the ideas at home? The Home Studio stays - Get used to It!