Robert Lane Blog

January 22nd at The Yardbird

2012-01-12T03:53:00.000-08:00

I'm performing at The Yardbird on Sunday the 22nd of January as part of an event organised by Birmingham Promoters. Also on the bill are;

Bowen & The Tide 
Regal 
Velvet Riot 
Jack The Biscuit 
Louise Petit

The gig is free entry and starts at 6.30pm. My stage time is 7.15pm

Paradise Place
Birmingham
B3 3HJ

New Years Eve Quiz on Milkbar Podcast

2011-12-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

Last night I went along to the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton to play some songs during the New Years Eve Quiz on the Milkbar Podcast.

I'd been asked along by the programme's presenter Jason Forrest, who had also arranged for a very varied array of Wolverhampton and West Midlands based lumanaries to take part in the quizz. They included an Elizabethan instrument maker, an often topless Wolves fan and a cooking Dentist. I'll provide some more information and links for them all later.

I peformed a tune in the breaks between each round, and had a really cool time. I also got a go on a Hurdy Gurdy.

My understanding is that the show will be broadcast on New Years Eve on 101.8WCRfm and available as a podcast at the same time. I will confirm the details ASAP.

Storyjohn Podcast

2011-12-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

The excellent Story John played two tracks from the EP on his December podcast, here's the show details.

Episode 59, featuring music from Robert Lane, Billy and Lozz and even a Breton Christmas carol, plus features on Steven Berkoff, the pantomime The Snow Queen at Forest Arts Centre, Walsall, and a review (including samples) of Edgar Broughton's acoustic set at the Robin 2, Bilston. A Merry Christmas To All Our Readers! You can find the Storyjohn Podcast via the iTunes Store or via www.storyjohn.co.uk - and it's free.

Thanks John!

The Milk Bar Podcast

2011-12-06T05:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening I recorded a phone interview with Jason Forrest of The Milk Bar Podcast

Jason was also kind enough to play three tunes from Any Place You'd Like To Know. There were many other interesting people on the show, so have a listen!

BBC WM Introducing

2011-12-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

Last night Lost But I Can't Care was played on BBC WM Introducing by Louise Brierley and Brett Berks. They were also kind enough to mention my gig at The Tower of Song on Saturday the 10th of December.

You can listen to the show on the iplayer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/p00lsl9m/

my bit is at 1.35.28

Thanks Brett and Louise!

Any Place You'd Like To Know

2011-11-29T04:15:00.000-08:00

My new EP is available for download now, either by going to the Music page of this blog, or following this link to my band camp

Birthday, Blues and Beaches

2011-11-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

The week leading up to my performance at The Tenby Blues Festival and four day holiday in Saundersfoot was not a great one. I was feeling rough, real rough! I won't explain what was wrong but it wasn't pleasant and I'd well and truly had enough by Friday night when I travelled with Maria down into Pembrokeshire, clutching the magic pills the Doctor had given me hours before that just about made me feel human.

By mid day on Saturday we had met up with my Uncle and Aunt who were also in the area and the four of us were enjoying beautiful Tenby. The blues festival is in it's 6th year and swinging away quite happily in the various theatres, pubs and cafes of all sizes and vintages that adorn this quintessential British holiday town.

A bit of personal history; Saundersfoot, the next village on from Tenby, was my family holiday destination throughout my childhood. I stopped going for a few years when booze and night clubs pulled me into planes and across the sea for summer holidays, and then very happily returned a few years ago. I discovered that Tenby hosts a Blues Festival every November, and was lucky enough to be invited along this year. The fact that all this was to take place on my birthday, 12th of November, just added to the very special nature of the gig.

My main performance was to take place in Caffe Vista, a place that had opened since my last visit to Tenby. I went along a few hours early to say hello and check everything was OK. This aptly names establishment boasts a stop you in your tracks view across the Tenby Harbour from it's balcony and through this amazing window...

I was greeted by the owner Yanni, and in our chat I discovered that he has created an excellent live venue through his passion and personal experiences as a musician. Some truly great names perform at Caffe Vista, if you are ever in the area it's a priority to check whether you'll be around at the time of one of these gigs. Here's the facebook page

In the early evening I performed my two hour sets at Caffe Vista. Both sets were well attended by lovely audiences, featuring both locals and Festival holiday makers. Very nice people; they even sang happy birthday to me!

I'd also been booked to perform at a late night session at The Giltar Hotel. I turned up at midnight as requested and played a short set to some very drunk musos and blues music fans. Bit of an odd one but here again people sang along and treated me well. It was also cool to see inside this posh hotel, in a part of the town I hadn't really seen before.

The next afternoon we returned to Caffe Vista to say thanks to Yanni. We also met his daughters, had some great food and generally lived it up. Here's me and Yanni. I'm windswept, he's interesting.

The next few days it was holiday time in really remarkably mild November weather. Carew Castle, Haverfodwest, Skrinkle Heaven, we did it all. Great way to spend a birthday, I love Pembrokeshire, I love playing gigs and meeting cool people.

Love life.

This week anyway!

Songs from the new EP

2011-10-22T02:50:00.000-07:00

Three of the tracks from my as yet unreleased new EP can now be heard on the music page of this blog.

New Track

2011-10-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

The first track from my upcoming EP can now be heard right here;

Lost But I Can't Care by Robert Lane

The track features me on vocals, guitars and a bit of piano, Matty Pinfield on Drums, Piano and Backing Vocals, Mick Jeynes on Bass and Lucy Phillips on Violin.

Cattle and Cane

2011-10-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the 5th of October I was thrilled to support Cattle and Cane at The Yardbird. Since offered the gig about a month ago I had been listening to tracks from their début EP Sold My Soul and previews of tunes from the new, self titled record. Hearing the band live only served to highlight how excellent these songs are and what a fabulous band they are. Great musicianship, gorgeous harmonies and very moving songs, what else could you ask for?

They were also a lovely group of people and very kindly joined me for this photograph...

Find Cattle and Cane here
https://www.facebook.com/cattleandcane
or here
http://cattleandcanemusic.tumblr.com/

Steve Gibbons Support

2011-10-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Friday the 6th of October I'm supporting Steve Gibbons at Cox's Yard, Stratford.

Steve Gibbons is a Midlands Music Legend and it will be an honour to support him.

Tickets for the gig cost £8 in advance and £10 on the door. Visit Cox's Yard website for more information.

Lee's a Laugh

2011-09-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

A huge well done to Mr Lee Gee for winning Starter for Ten, a comedy competition at The Public in West Bromwich.

Lee is my best mate who I've know since uni and as well as being a talented (and now prize winning) comedian he is also a secondary school teacher.

His act is observational and intelligent. He charms audiences with self deprivation and acute wordiness whilst occasional throwing in a well judged bit of smut and or profanity for the drunks and dirty minded (who are of course an integral part of the comedy scene)

Lee had stiff competition as all of the acts were very good. It was a well put together night with a good mix of styles. Here is some info about the night from the website of The Public.

The comic who impresses our panel of judges most will not only be given a £100 cash prize, they'll be given a stepping stone on to the comedy circuit by being given frequent support slots for touring comedy artists at The Public.

Launching the return of regular comedy nights at The Public this autumn, 'Starter for ten' will help promote the region's exceptional talent and provide an unique opportunity for amateur comedians to perform alongside established artists.

The evening will be compered by Beacon drivetime presenter, James Carpenter and will feature performances from Adam Chivers, Al Rudge, Dean Kirby, Laurence Saunders, Lee Goodall, Lorna Meehan, Lovdev Barpaga, Rob Sturges, Roger Swift and Steve Grainger.

Judging panel:

Jon Pritchard, Chief Comedy Writer for Brum Notes Magazine
James Carpenter, Beacon Drivetime presenter
Linda Saunders, Managing Director of The Public
Altaf Sarwar, Desi Central

Open Ealing

2011-09-16T05:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video of me at Open Ealing a few weeks ago. Open Ealing is a West Ealing Arts Project. Have a look at their website for more info

Thanks to May and all the team for having me along and looking after me all day.

Artsfest important update

2011-09-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will NOT be performing at The Prince of Wales as part of Artsfest this weekend.

I will be performing instead at the following venues;

Solo

Saturday 10th September
Mint Hotel Birmingham
18:30-19:00

Sunday 11th September 2011
Birmingham Conservatoire - The Arena Foyer
14:00-14:30

And with the Robert Lane Band at

Sunday 11th September 2011
The Victoria Pub
18:00-18:30

Please not that these shows do not appear in the Artsfest Brochure.

I will also be playing guitar for Louise Kilbride at Cafe Blend on Sunday at 4.00pm. Full venue addresses can be found on the Live page.

Cattle and Cane support show

2011-08-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the 5th of October I will be supporting Cattle and Cane at The Yardbird. Here's the band's bio,

Cattle & Cane are a real family affair, with several members of the prodigious Hammill brood at the helm...Their local success was compounded by a storming appearance at Scotland's biggest music festival, T In The Park, performing on the BBC Introducing Stage which is nationally renowned as the music industry's forefront of exposing the best emerging music from all four corners of the United Kingdom...their music is indelibly marked by a sepia-tinted, timeless quality - that could just as easily have emerged from pre-war America as post-millenium Teesside

You can see videos of them performing at T in the Park on this BBC website

Here's the excellent promo video for Sold My Soul

As if playing along side such a great band wasn't enough, I'll also have chance to catch up with my old friend Simon Davies when he plays as part of the wonderful Chris Tye Band and Matty Pinfield is doing a DJ set.

The show is free entry and starts at about 7pm. Why not add yourself to guestlist of this Facebook event

Robert Johnson

2011-08-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

This May was the centenary of the birth of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. Despite recording just 29 songs before dying at the age of 27 he became one of the most influential musicians in popular music. Many of those songs became blues standards including Love In Vain, Sweet Home Chicago, Cross Road Blues, and I Believe I'll Dust My Broom.

Due to his influence on the musicians who came after him it is easy to see the role he played in the creation of Rock and Roll and later Hard Rock. Giants of music who wear his influence on their sleeves include Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant and Jimi Hendrix.

As well as his remarkable compositions, vocal delivery and untouchable guitar skills Johnson has the ultimate enigmatic personal story to make him a legend. Very little is known about him and fact and myth appear to have become so ingrained that no one can tell which is which.

The popular legend has it that Johnson transformed from a bad guitar player to something super human after selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads. However he developed his skills the few recordings he made demonstrate an incredible ability. No one can play like him, although many have tried over the past 70 odd years. Most mere mortals can only get any where near by cheating and having two guitarists to recreate what Robert did on his own (whilst singing!)

Like many musicians of his era he was a travelling man moving from town to town, playing on street corners and in bars. From Wikipedia; "Johnson supposedly asked homely young women living in the country with their families whether he could go home with them, and in most cases the answer was 'yes'...until a boyfriend arrived or Johnson was ready to move on."

It seems likely that Johnson's reputation with ladies led to his early death. The popular story is that he was poisoned buy the jealous husband or boyfriend of a flirtatious audience member.

(This years Tenby Blues Festival is dedicated to Robert Johnson, and I've been asked to prepare some sort of tribute to him. I often play Love in Vain at gigs and at the moment I'm thinking about adding something extra for this event. It was whilst re-listening to his catalog that I decided a blog post about him was in order.)

2011-08-24T13:12:00.001-07:00

The Yardbird, Birmingham's wonderful Jazz Club, is becoming something of a home from home. I'm playing pretty often on the Sunday evening event, Free Love Club, hosted by the rather lovely David Timothy. On the 14th of August I performed solo in an early evening slot which was good fun due to a nice crowd, including a family of tourists soaking up a bit of Brummie Culture. It was following this gig that I took a look at the recently damaged shops in New Street.

The following week, the 21st, David invited The Robert Lane Band to play a later slot. I was joined by Mick Jeynes on Bass, Matty Pinfield on Drums and for a couple of songs the Violin of Lucy Phillips. We went on around 9.30pm and were thrilled to play to a large and enthusiastic crowd. It was particularly exciting to play all the tunes from the upcoming EP, the first time some of them had been performed at a gig. There is always a great ambience at the Yardbird and this gig seemed to have a particularly good feel. It was a busy night and I met a few cool people before and after our set. Genuine music fans and great characters.

In the coming weeks I will be back at the Yardbird both solo and with the band. I'm also playing a Wednesday night gig in October supporting the excellent Cattle and Cane. There will be more details about these gigs on the blog soon.

2011-08-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

Been a busy and pretty crazy couple of weeks. I started and finished recording three new tracks with Matty Pinfield producing then went off to France for a week to hang out with my old lady (ha ha) brother, sister in law and niece.

I can confidently say that these tracks, along with what we'd already completed for the new record a few months ago, are the best things put down by this musician ever and I'm very proud of them. I should thank Matty, Mick Jeynes and Lucy Phillips for their hard work but to be honest I don't think it was hard at all, just good fun.

Having lived with the rough mixes of the tracks for a week or so they have now been tweeked and mastered, and we are heading towards getting a new record out. You should hear some cheeky previews pretty soon.

Returning from France was a bit odd as we appeared to be flying into a slightly different country from the one we'd left. Hearing about the riots from the front page of a French newspaper was pretty crazy. We arrived home on the Wednesday after the Tuesday night trouble in Birmingham, West Bromwich and Wolvehrampton. Made the mistake of watching news 24 for too long, looked at some pictures in an Express and Star that showed Riot Police running past my girlfriend's place of work. All of this produced a very strange feeling. Something I guess we were sharing with everyone.

On Sunday I played a gig at The Yardbird in Birmingham city centre. Afterwards I took a walk down New Street to the Bull Ring and was rather shocked by the amount of windows boarded up. I got talking to a couple of Police who were part of the increased presence in that part of town. I was interested to know if any Police Officers had been hurt in the West Midlands during all that madness. The Constables I talked to said they hadn't heard of any serious injuries. They also told me that not all the boarded up windows were the result of damage but that some owners had put boards up to stop their shops being attacked if it went on. I was grateful to them for answering my questions, but then I guess that they were there to reassure the public as much as deter criminals.

All very odd, I don't know what to think. I'm one of those people who think that sometimes the police make situations worse by their heavy handed approach to public order stuff. I'm thinking of things like the G8 protests. I also get very upset when a protest turns violent. In this case I think the police acted correctly, indeed some would say too softly at first. I have no sympathy for people who turn to violence and looting, and I don't believe for a minute that the majority of those people were acting as part of a cause, more like simple greed. It's truly horrific that people have died protecting their communities and been beaten when putting out fires. It's unthinkable that homes have been lost and lives ruined. A lot of what has been said by various sides in the analysis since has troubled me very much.

At times like this though we do see both the negative and POSITIVE in people and in the country. Felt proud to see the clean up volunteers, and the donations made to the newly homeless. A few thousand selfish people won't bring us all down, don't you think?

Camden Cancelled

2011-08-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

I'm very to sorry to say that my performance in Camden on Friday has been cancelled. Hopefully a new date can be arranged.

Songwriters and Bohemians

2011-07-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

As expected it was a joy to be invited along to Songwriter's Cafe on Thursday. It's a thrill to be there just soaking up the atmosphere let alone getting to perform.

Our host Paul Murphy started the evening off with two of his beautifully evocative songs then I performed a twenty minute set made up of songs from Twenty Two plus three as yet unreleased tracks. Here's some clips of my set

Next up was The Celturian an "Acoustic warrior with fretting behaviour" who for my money is one of the best acoustic guitar players around Birmingham, or anywhere. He was joined on vocals by Fay Goodman and together they delivered a moving and tender performance.

Things took an international turn when Brazilian Luiz Gabriel Lopez performed, joined for much of his set by the fabulous Tabla player Mendi Singh. This was one of those occasions when a performance just grabbed the energy of the room and went...somewhere. Hard to describe. Seek Luiz out if you can, I believe he's only in the UK for a short time.

It was great to chat to Luiz after the show, in his excellent English he was very encouraging and seems to be something of a kindred spirit.

The final act was Andy Wickett who is a Birmingham legend due to his musical history and associations. Andy's set was a great end to the evenings music. His heartfelt singing and guitar style were complemented by his easy and humours stage presence.

Paul Murphy finished the night with two excellent stories and then it was time for everyone to wend their ways.

Songwriter's Cafe happens every Thursday evening before an invited audience whilst people from around the world listen in on line from Paul's website. Definitely one of the best gigs around, both to perform at and watch/listen.

Saturday found me teaching guitar in the morning, briefly playing guitar for Louise Kilbride at Simmerdown Festival in Handsworth Park and then performing at Bohemia Restaurant in Selly Oak. Bohemia is a lovely small restaurant run by dedicated and friendly staff who are hugely supportive of local acoustic and jazz musicians. It's a great place to play and feels like two gigs in one. First off you're basically background music while everyone orders and enjoys their meals, then once the desert and drink flows it gets a bit more like a "normal" gig with singing along etc. It was very cool to chat to people afterwards about music (and their food!)

Pete Townshend

2011-07-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

Another in my very un-regular series of posts about my idols. See also Rufus Wainwright and John Lennon

Pete Townshend has been an inspiration to me for years. It really kicked in watched The Kids Are Alright the 1979 documentary movie of The Who. I bought the DVD to cheer myself up after a teenage romance ended badly, and the scene in which the band perform A Quick One While He's Away on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus just totally summed the musical power and inventiveness of The Who and in particular Pete. In this clip Pete sings, jumps all over the place, plays beautiful guitar, plays hard guitar and kicks over then rescues a drum mic mid song.

As well as the seminal performances on that DVD I also studied The Isle Of White 1970 DVD. So influential was Townshend that I could often be seen at gigs with my then band The Bleak doing this sort of thing.

Windmills, jumping around, all that sort of thing. Many was the gig where I'd bloodied my hands and bruised my thumb. I carried on though and in my way I meant it. And Pete means it too, even going so far as to impale his hand on his Strat's wammy bar at a gig in the 80s.

I never smashed up my guitars though and I wouldn't recommend anyone else doing it either. (I heard a great story around this time about a local guitarist who smashed up his crappy old guitar at a gig because his band had just been signed to a major label. A day later not only had the deal fell through but he was scratching around for money for a new old crap guitar.) I would say I was too poor to smash up my gear but according to legend so were The Who in 1964. They didn't make proper money until the album Tommy in 1969 because of all the debt they had build up through being expected to destroy their gear at EVERY gig. It's hard to really appreciate now what effect this smashing of gear must have had when The Who were the first band to do it. It had only been a matter of a couple of years since the cutting edge of British Rock and Roll was Cliff and The Shadows (nothing against Cliff or The Shadows by the way, I love Move It and Wonderful Land)

So Pete the showman had a big effect on me. The Who were one of the most visually arresting groups in history and Pete's performance style had a very obvious effect on Jimi Hendrix in 1966 and thousands of others since. When I actually got to see The Who play in concert in 2007 it was astonishing to see Townshend, a man in his 60s, still being the frenetic and energetic showman he was in he's 20s. He was also the only member of the band to stay on stage throughout the show.

Then there is his influence as a guitarist. If you look up his name in one of those great Rock Guitar Players lists you'll most likely find him described as a truly inventive rhythm player with an aggressive, staccato, almost flamenco style. This is very true and this alone makes it very likely that of all the 1960s guitar gods he has been influential on the most bands. I've got to add some more to that though. Whilst it's true that his lead guitar style never reached Clapton, Beck, Page or Hendrix levels of technicality and speed he did play a lot of stunning solo lines from the late 60s onwards. Maybe he hasn't got the big famous solos of other players but he always did the right thing. You can't improve on the lead guitar in the intro of Eminence Front, or the beautifully melodic breaks in tracks like Join Together. Very often his rough edges made the perfect sound, such as in all those improvised jams in the Woodstock/Tommy era. He also has a fabulous acoustic style which can go from delicate finger picking back to that aggressive rhythm.

So he helped make me the guitarist and the performer I am today. Thanks Mr Townshend. Most important of all, of course, is his song writing. By the time he was my age Pete had already written I can't Explain and My Generation. Had this been his only contribution to the cannon of British popular music he would be a giant, but by 1969 he was working towards Tommy and from there Who's Next and Quadrophenia...

There are so many of Pete's songs that I love both mega famous and criminally under valued. The lyrics on Quadropenia, the Synths on Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again, the beauty of Blue, Red and Grey, none of these things are accidents.

Great songs, great performer, exceptional guitarist.

When I first started playing solo Pete's appearances on the webcast series In The Attic were very helpful in convincing me to make the plunge. I even had a slightly surreal dream in which I sought Pete's assurances that I should perform solo and he said yes. I don't think he liked me much though...

Songwriter's Cafe

2011-07-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

I'm absolutely thrilled to have been asked to play Paul Murphy's Songwriter's Cafe this Thursday night.

Due to the intimate nature of the venue attendance is invite only, but everyone can listen in on Paul's website from 9pm

Here's how Songwriter's Cafe is described on Paul's website "A weekly live radio show from a microvenue under the treehouse...An invited audience for the live broadcast savour a rich serving of songwriters, poets, musicians and wordsmiths. Online friends eavesdrop, send greetings and wish they could be there"

A change of plan

2011-07-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

My gig at The Coffee Lounge for Acoustic Bites has been moved from this Wednesday to next Wednesday (20th of July)

Last Couple of Gigs

2011-07-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Shed, Sun and Sweat, simply.

Young Runaways on Radio 2

2011-06-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's very exciting to report that Young Runaways will be performing live on tonight's Janice Long show on BBC Radio 2. The show starts at 12am and will be on iplayer for anyone who isn't a night owl!

Young Runaways features my friends Matty Pinfield (who plays Drums at some of my gigs and produced three of the songs on my EP) and Lucy Phillips (who plays the lovely violin solo on my song Very Own Way)

2011-06-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Had a lot of fun at two excellent gigs last week, one at The Crossroads Blues Club with Matty and Mick, and the other playing a duo set with Mick at The Black Boy Inn in Bridgnorth.

At the crossroads we played the main set after the night was kicked off with an open mic session hosted by the wonderful Chickenbone Blues Band Among the open mic performers was the magnificent Dave Bristow who features in this short video I filmed

Matty Pinfield offered his services to the Chickenbone Blues Band for a rollicking set that ended the first part of the evening

And then we took the stage, performing mostly blues (it's a blues club, you see)

plus originals and a few surprises, like this impromptu version (as much a surprise to us as anyone!)

Thanks to Mike Dickeson for these pictures.

Songwriter's Cafe, BCR FM

2011-06-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night I was thrilled to hear my track Very Own Way on Big City Radio 89.1fm. They have an unsigned show every Thursday night from 7pm. Many thanks to presenter Phil Docker and the rest of the team.

I heard it having just got into the car on the way to play guitar for Louise Kilbride at Songwriter's Cafe hosted by the wonderful songwriter Paul Murphy. Described on Paul's website as a "weekly live radio show from a microvenue under the treehouse" this gig was brilliant and it's impossible to do it justice on here (especially as I'd stupidly left my camera at home.)

Basically Paul hosts the evening before an invited audience and at the same time the whole thing is broadcast on the Internet via Paul's website and Rhubarb Radio. From time to time the team manning the Internet side of things share what those listening on line are saying, and in return they get name checked and cheered for by everyone in the room.

The acts performing were all superb. It was very cool to see some familiar faces among the performers; David Timothy who runs the wonderful Free Love Club at The Yardbird (I'm there on July 3rd) performed a very touching set of honest and witty tracks in his trade mark finger picking style. Kevin Frankie Williams with Dave Smith who are both regulars at The Crossroads Blues Club (I'm there on June 16th) finished the evening with excellent original blues songs that went everywhere from emotional and tragic to joys and hysterical.

An act I hadn't come across before were Layla Tutt and The Good Lads, a three piece who made an incredible, inimitable sound featuring all kinds of unusual and very cool instruments.

Paul Murphy began the night with three beautiful, poetic tracks that illustrated how much he deserves the respect and affection this little community of music lovers showed him.

It was my first exposure to Songwriter's Cafe and apparently I've really been missing out on an important bit of local music history as it's be going through various guises and venues since 1996 (see the website for more info)

A great event, I hope to return.

Crossroads Blues Club

2011-06-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Robert Lane Band (Robert lane, Mick Jeynes and Matty Pinfield) perform the headline set at The Crossroads Blues Club, Birmingham on the 16th of June.

The band will play a mix of original tracks (including some new never heard before songs) and covers of Blues songs by artists including Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry and Eric Clapton.

They will also welcome special friends as guests to jam at the end of the evening.

The night will kick of with an open mic session.

Here’s some info from the Crossroads Website

Rob is a young Birmingham-based Guitarist, Songwriter and Singer and great supporter of The Crossroads. In May 2010 he was chosen by the LG Arena to perform before concerts by both Dire Straits' front man Mark Knopfler and international superstar singer/songwriter John Mayer. Robert exudes a proudly eclectic style which touches on introverted singer songwriter and broken hearted blues journeyman.

Standing in The shadows of Mowtown

2011-06-06T04:34:00.000-07:00

My mate Mick Jeynes who plays Bass in The Robert Lane Band has lent me one of the best music films I've ever seen.

It's the story of The Funk Brothers, the session musicians who played on the Mowtown records of the 50s, 60s and 70s. As the opening sequence of the film points out these musicians "played on more number-one hits than The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys combined."

The film not only tells the story of Hitsville USA, the small recording Studio where so much of the defining music of the twentieth century was recorded, but also reunites many of the original Funk Brothers for an amazing concert.

Watch this slightly cheesy advert to get a feel for the film.

Hark at Harper

2011-05-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

How cool of the lovely Jessica Harper to mention me on An Actors Blog which is a blog that keeps the world up to date with what Jess is doing, as well as features news and reviews of cultural stuff she's come across.

I met Jess through her work at Wolverhamptons Arena Theatre and it has been amazing to slowly discover all the interesting work she's done in theatre, TV and education locally and nationwide.

It's very likely you have seen Jess performing in some thing, especially if you are a theatre goer in the West Midlands.

Have a look at her show reel below to see some of the prime time TV work she has done. I was very impressed to see her on screen along side my favourite ever black country/brummie person, Julie Walters. (listen to the way she says sexual relaaaaations)

Upcoming

2011-05-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday 29th May

Cox’s Yard

Bridgefoot

Stratford-upon-Avon

CV37 6YY

01789 404 600

Thursday 16th June

Tower of Song

107 Pershore Road South

Cotteridge

BIRMINGHAM

B30 3JX

Saturday 18th June

Black Boy Inn, DUO SHOW with Mick Jeynes

58 Cartway

Bridgnorth

Shropshire

WV16 4BG

Saturday 2nd July

Life and Other Art 2011

Coach House Arts Centre 3.30pm

Rectory Road

Oldswinford

Stourbridge

DY8 2HA

Music from The Shed, hosted by Elena Thomas

Saturday 16th July

Bohemia restaurant

23 Oak Tree Lane
Selly Oak
Birmingham
B29 6JE
Call 0121 471 2713 to book a table

Nice Place...

2011-05-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

...that Cherry Reds in Kings Heath. I was down there last Thursday performing for a couple of hours. It's a small place on York Road, close to The Hare and Hounds. Hanging out there is a bit like being in a really welcoming friend's front room.

My two hour acoustic set started of as a bit of background form some late evening diners, then by the end of the night was a touch more raucous with singing along and that sort of thing. A good night and only a pound in, I recommend it!

Photographs from Glee Club

2011-05-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

London-the music

2011-05-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

I visited London at the end of April to check out some venues I’d heard about. I was treating the trip as research, not really expecting to play.

I went along to Aint Nothin But Blues Bar in Soho, where Niall Kelly was kind enough to let me sing a couple of songs in the Saturday evening open mic. What a nice club this is, not unlike Brum’s own Tower of Song, i.e. smallish and rammed with music aficionados. I seemed to go down well with my two tunes (one blues and an original) then had a cool time watching Niall and some regulars Jam.

On Sunday I popped along to The Stage Door in Waterloo which is just down the road form The Old Vic. This was a proper singer songwriters night with some rather wonderful talents appearing. Once again the fella in charge, another Rob, was happy to let me join in and do some tunes which everyone seemed to enjoy.

At both of these gigs I was very kindly lent a Guitar as I was travelling without one, so thanks to the lenders.

Finally on Monday night, at the suggestion of Rob from the Stage Door, I visited The Spice of Life. Everyone told me that being a bank holiday it was a quiet night, but it seemed pretty heaving at times to me. On this occasion the bill was full but I had a lot of fun watching everyone else play.

At one point two rather nice people came and sat by me, and clearly being rather more gregarious than me sparked up a conversation, asking if I was playing. I told them who I was and the reason for my visit, and it turns out that they were the singer and pianist from a London band called Midas Touch. When they got up to do their two numbers they were really great, probably the best thing I heard all night. How strange that they should happen to sit by me, and end up being so good, I thought. You can see/hear some of their stuff here

Glee Club

2011-05-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

What an honour/treat it was to play at The Glee Club last Sunday with Matty Pinfield and Mark Jeynes.

Shortly after we arrived we enjoyed hearing two members of Sylvia doing their wonderful two part harmony songs, then set up to play. The Studio space of The Glee is nice and intimate with excellent sound and the forty or so strong crowd were lovely. Probably one of my favourite gigs playing with the band.

Straight after us were Bombdog, who describe themselves as "a mix of post rock and Balkan/Mexican/french influences." A good, tight instrumental band. Chatting to them later it turns out I have a University in common with some of them.

Next up was 4oz of Groove, the coolest bunch of people I've shared a bill with. Three incredibly talented and sympathetic instrumentalists and a wonderfully soulful singer playing lovely originals and funked up covers. Fabulous.

London-the sights

2011-05-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

I went to London for a couple of nights last weekend, to play some gigs. I'll blog about that later, but here's some pics of a couple of the sights and Londony stuff me and my mate Lee got up to

So, this is my mate Zeus at The British Museum, which is rather amazing. A proper India Jones type of place, everything in there is two thousand years old, collected (nicked?) by Victorian adventurer types. I only spent a short time in there before getting my train home and I'd love to go back. Below is the rather special reading room.

HMS Belfast....

I haven't got any pictures of our time at The National Portrait Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden etc but they were very exciting as well

Today's Gig Changed

2011-05-08T06:07:00.000-07:00

Today's Free Love Club gig at The Yardbird has been moved to The Glee Club. I've never played there before, so this is reallly exciting.

The music starts at 4pm and finishes at 11pm. Me and the band are on at 8.15pm for 30 minutes.

It's £4 on the door, first come first served...

The Glee Club
The Arcadian
70 Hurst Street
Birmingham
West Midlands
B5 4TD
0871 472 0400

I must admit I was pretty terrified...

2011-04-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

when I arrived at The White Lion in Walsall on Saturday. I'd arranged for The Robert Lane band (which is me, Matty Pinfield and Mick Jeynes) to perform at the St George's Day Party. The White Lion is a biggish pub and when I visited it a couple of weeks before and took part in the open mic session it had a fairly big crowd, well into the music so I was confident the band would have a good night.

As fate would have it a very big Stag Party had descended on the pub just before we arrived. They, naturally, were drinking a lot and making a lot of noise. At various intervals signalled by some secret and incomprehensible code word they would all lie on the floor or climb on each others backs and jump up and down.

Once we had set up one of the Stags grabbed one of the pub's microphones and mimed away to whatever was playing on the jukebox, throwing the mic stand around, really thrashing about in his rock star mode. He stood on an unsecured monitor which moved and he fell over. All part of the fun. Once he'd finished he turned to us and enigmatically cried "beat that, you c***s!" Being as I am an eternal worrier and at heart a dedicated pessimist, this worried me a little bit. I was not very secretly hoping that the party would move on before we kicked of, but it was not to be.

My original plan had been to have Matty Pinfield and Lucy Philips (the talented violinist who plays the on Very Own Way) start the night with one of their lovely acoustic guitar and violin duo sets. Faced with the most boisterous crowd this side of The Marquee Club, we decided the best thing would be to just play our heaviest blue and rock tracks and see how we got on. So we kicked off with Leave My Kitten Alone, smashed through The Who's The Seeker and kept going through everything loud in the set. We agreed later that when we started every note was played through fear, which was then replaced by elation when these Stags turned out to be lovely and big fans of what we were playing. They recognised and joined in with a lot of the covers, they listened and jumped around to the originals. Matty smashed his kit and gave himself blisters, Mick was loud and funky as hell and I windmilled and solo'd within and inch of my life. It became hysterical when I'd be playing away and open my eyes to see them all lying on the floor or Piggy backing around the pub.

The Stag leader grabbed the mic again, flashed his mates and asked us to play a Metallica Track. We settled for a bit of Led Zeppelin and him and some of the others sang the same verse a hundred and five times, and that was the end of the first set.

The one remaining sober looking Stag told me he thought we were very good and not to be offended, but they were moving on. I assured him this was not a problem. This left a much more subdued but attentive crowd for the second half of the night.

After a break I played a few solo tracks and Lucy joined us for Very Own Way and some jammy covers. Mick, Matty and I played the night out and that was that.

All in all I had a great night and was pretty proud of this little band for being able to take anything and win such an intimidating crowd over. Mick and Matty played great and I was very pleased we had worked up such an eclectic repertoire!

Chronic Ape

2011-04-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

The very lovely people at Chronic Ape have been kind enough to do a nice little piece about the Twenty Two EP, which I'm very grateful for.

Have a look at the site, they have a whole load of interesting music and cultural news being added all the time by a range of excellent contributors.

Upcoming Gigs

2011-04-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

I've just added some new gig dates to the Live Page. I'm playing solo shows at some of my favourite venues, including The Yardbird in Brum and Stratford's Cox's Yard.

There's some dates with the band in Walsall, Birmingham and Bridgnorth in the next few months too.

2011-04-03T11:37:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday 29th March I was thrilled to once again support Edwina Hayes at The Robin 2, Bilston. If you've visited the blog before you will know all about Edwina, if not she's a wonderful singer well know for having a song featured in a Cameron Diaz film. See her website for more info and to hear some of her beautiful music.

I arrived at the Robin at the same time as my good friend Sam Draisey, who was also performing, and his girlfriend Michaela. Me and Sam have played together many times all over the place but hadn't seen each other for quite a while. So the pre gig hanging around for once was good fun as we caught up and exchanged stories about being in the highly privileged position of a west midlands singer songwriter. Or something like that. This chat was only briefly punctuated by our sound checks.

The doors opened and the audience began to arrive. By sheer coincidence an old school mate walked in and we had a quick catch up. Turns out he's a big fan of Edwina...

...who now arrived having travelled all the way from her home in East Yorkshire and did a brief sound check. She came to say hello to Sam and I and happily remembered me. A little later she appeared again to offer us some sandwiches, which we had managed to miss by not venturing back stage...

Sam performed and went down a treat with the audience, a proper music fan audience. And why not, he's great! My favourite lyricist on the circuit. Then it was my go, and the lovely crowd were again very appreciative. Despite the very very bright lights I was able to make out my girlfriend, having only just finished work in Wolverhampton, arrive halfway through the first song. So that completed a good line up of some of my favourite people!

After a short break Edwina performed, and we were all yet again floored by her beautiful voice. She gave us a number of fabulous originals and very moving interpretations of great songs by other people.

She's also just genuinely very nice and witty which makes for some great stories and banter between the songs. With Edwina the whole gig feels like she's performing in front of dear friends, and indeed judging buy the reaction of the audience she truly was. It's easy to understand why she gets so many requests to perform at weddings/birthdays/engagements.

As always the sound and vibe at the Robin was great, I like playing there alot.

What a lovely night! Shame it's such a drive home, but I had one of Edwina's cds to listen to so it wasn't so bad.

2011-03-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

The last ever Acoustic Bites at The Public went really well and was a very pleaseant afternoon. I performed a couple of solo sets and played guitar for Louise Kilbirde and Jessica Dunn.

Jessica is a young singer who usually performs with a keyboard player who is out of the country at the moment, so Louise asked if I wouldn't mind playing for her on two songs. One Rhianna and one erm ahem Justin Bieber ahem cough cough.

Well, suffice to say that I developed a new found respect and admiration for the Rhianna tune, Unfaithful, and that I didn't particularly take to Master Bieber's Pray. Jessica performed them both excellently, despite us only having sat down a played together ten minutes before the gig started.

Also on the bill were the excellent Babajack, spoken word coolness from Spicy Fingers and soul from Indigo.

The best thing about these gigs at The Public was that being a laid back Sunday afternoon event, there was always a big range of audiences. This time my brother, sister in law and toddler niece Lily also came along which I loved. It was lovely to have Lily running around, dancing to Babajack and having a cool time. She also pointed at me and shouted my name whilst I was playing, the first time she's actually said it. Which was pretty wonderful!

It is a shame these gigs have come to an end

Supporting Edwina Hayes

2011-03-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy to announce that I'll once again be supporting the magnificent Edwina Hayes at The Robin 2, Bilston tomorrow night. Edwina is a wonderful Singer Songwriter, who's version of Feels Like Home was featured in The Cameron Diaz movie My Sister's Keeper. She has also supported a whole host of amazing people, have a look at her website for more info.

To add to the excitement my friend Sam Draisey is also playing, so I must say I'm really looking forward to this one.

Sam Draisey 8.20pm - 8.40pm

Robert Lane 8.50pm - 9.15pm

Edwina Hayes 9.30pm - 11.00pm

Gig Postponement

2011-03-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately my performance at The Jam House acoustic session that was scheduled for next Tuesday, the 29th of March, has been postponed. Hopefully I will be appearing at the Jam House soon...

I Love The Yardbird (and I think she likes me too)

2011-03-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

There are a handful of genuinely excellent small and medium sized venues in my home city and I'm happy to say that I'm starting to feel at home at another of them, The Yardbird Jazz Cafe in Paradise Place.

I was there last night playing guitar for Louise Kilbride, I'm there again on Sunday with Matty Pinfield and Mick Jeynes.

I'm there again playing solo on the 26th of April, and very possibly with the band the following week on the 3rd of May.

Last Ever Acoustic Bites at The Public

2011-03-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, the 20th of March is the last Acoustic Bites at The Public in West Bromwich.

Acoustic Bites has been running for twelve months, hosted by Singer Louise Kilbride (who you may remember I have played guitar for at some gigs recently.)

I'll be performing a couple of sets as well as playing guitar for Louise and Jessica Dunn. The Public is a big arts complex in West Bromwich, and as well as the free entry gig the gallery will be open free of charge as well. It's a nice gig to come along to, hear some cool music and have a look round the new digital arts installations. There will also be a book, DVD and CD swap. All ages welcome.

Here are the details from The Public website.

ACOUSTIC BITES brings you some of the best live folk, acoustic, world music and spoken word from around the region.

Performed in The Public’s acoustically stunning theatre space.

In the theatre between 1pm and 4pm

Entry is FREE.

Babajack – fantastic folk blues duo brings you stirring and uplifting music and beautiful songs from their recently released second album.

Indigo - jazz standards and soul classics from this talented singer songwriter with a very special voice

Louise Kilbride – sings beautiful traditional songs from Ireland and Scotland. “Unalloyed acoustic loveliness” (Birmingham Post)

Spicy Fingers - words of wisdom accompanied by Spicy’s unique blend of rhythm, rhyme, love and laughter

Rob Lane – talented singer songwriter and inspirational guitarist plays folk and blues to warm your soul...

Jessica Dunn - young performer with a stunning vocal talent...

The Public
New Street West Bromwich
West Midlands
B70 7PG
0121 533 7161

New Gigs

2011-03-03T09:43:00.001-08:00

Lots of new gigs on the Live page of the website, have a look...

2011-02-23T11:22:00.001-08:00

Here's some videos of me, Matty Pinfield and Mick Jeynes at a couple of gigs at The Black Boy Inn, Bridgnorth.

"The Seeker" by The Who

"Cissy Strut" by The Meters

2011-02-20T12:45:00.001-08:00

Excellent gig at the Yardbird on Wednesday. Nice big crowd in one of the very best venues in Birmingham. My stuff went down well and I had some great joining in on a certain summery tune.

Thanks to everyone who came along, and to everyone for sticking around after the footie (bloody football!) to see my set.

The Chris Whiting Band were superb, check them out here I think it's fair to say they enjoyed themselves too...

it's tomorrow it's tomorrow its...

2011-02-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

tomorrow, my gig supporting The Chris Whiting Band at The Yardbird Jazz Cafe, Birmingham.

The show is free entry and the Yardbird is one of Birmingham's best small venues. It's in Paradise Place, very close to Broad Street. (Let me know if you need more info getting there.)

The gig should start around 8.30pm but the Yardbird is open all day, and I'll be there from about 7 sound checking etc.

Hope to see you there!

Very Own Way

2011-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

Hi, it's been a while since my last post but I promise I've put the time apart from you to good use.

I've been working at the studio of my friend Matty Pinfield of Young Runaways on a new track, Very Own Way.

I'd like you to hear it, so press play on the link below, I'll tell you the story of the recording later on, but have a listen first...go on...

Very Own Way by Robert Lane

Supporting The Chris Whiting Band

2011-01-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday the 16th of February I'll be supporting The Chris Whiting Band at The Yardbrid, Birmingham. The gig will be free entry and start around 7.30pm.

Here's a bit of info about Chris

"Chris Whiting released his debut single in 2009, which featured Jon Brookes of the Charlatans on drums as well as a host of top local musicians. The single “My Boy” became the official single of SSAFA Forces Help, the oldest and one of the largest military charities in the UK. It also enjoyed international radio play through BFBS, local radio coverage through the BBC and numerous independent radio stations.

2009 also saw Chris grow from solo artist to full band featuring Mark Brownridge (guitar) , Emma Davis (vocals and percussion), Alan Mills (bass) and Daniel “Phez” Peasant (Drums). In 2010 Chris Whiting and Friends supported a number of top artists including Justin Currie of Del Amitri, Tommy Riley and the 3 Daft Monkeys, and the band played at several of the Midlands foremost venues (Wolverhampton Slade Rooms, The Marrs Bar, Katie Fitzgerald’s, The Jamhouse)."

Crossroads Blues Tonight

2011-01-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

I've just been asked to play at The Crossroads Blues Club tonight, as the booked act can't make the gig.

I'll be jamming with whoever is there to make a band with, as well as possibly doing a solo set.

It's free entry, a great night and there will also be an open mic session.

Hope to see you there!

2011-01-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Solihull Times

2010-12-28T06:13:00.001-08:00

Some more local media coverage of Twenty Two on itunes, this time from The Solihull Times

Here's a round up of some of the recent reviews and stuff of the EP, just to keep it all together;

Review by Darren Brookes on Media Essentials

Spaghetti Gazetti

The Music Quarter

Review of two tracks on The Sloucher

Happy Christmas

2010-12-28T06:04:00.000-08:00

I hope you're having a good holiday (unless you're in a job that prevents you from having a holiday at this time, in which case thanks for what you're doing and we are thinking of you!)

I'm having a good time, I feel stuffed full of food and like everyone else in the world I've got a cold but this is all part of the fun, isn't it?

Acoustic Bites (in the snow)

2010-12-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

A surprisingly large number of hardy souls braved the frost and chills to enjoy Acoustic Bites at The Public in West Bromwich this afternoon. The Public is a large arts complex with a very difficult and controversial history

The Acoustic Bites sessions are organised by my friend Singer Songwriter Louise Kilbride and this month she had gathered some excellent talent including Faisal X, Indigo, Jessica Dunn and spoken word from Spicy Fingers.

Everyone played two sets and I closed my final one with a blues jam, for which I was joined by Mick Jeynes on bass, Rob the sound man on guitar and spicy on percussion...excellent fun!

2010-12-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

And here's the link (always useful!)

The Music Quarter

2010-12-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

The Music Quarter, a great Birmingham Music website has mentioned Twenty Two going on to iTunes.

Thanks Nat!

John Lennon

2010-12-10T04:44:00.000-08:00

A while ago I started a new series of posts about my idols. I haven't got very far, in fact I've only discussed one. As this week has seen the 30th anniversary of the murder of one of my heroes, it seemed a good time to talk about him.

But it's incredibly difficult. I have at various times in my life been near to fostering an obsession about John Lennon. For a couple of years in my youth I was even doing my best to develop some of his mannerisms in the way I spoke. His inspiration on me goes beyond the musical and lyrical, I was pretty much devastated when I finally accepted that my curls and lack of patience would forever prevent me from having any of his haircuts. I mean I wouldn't have wanted some of them, but others were pretty cool...

The best I can do is to offer up some of my thoughts and conclusions from a lifetime of Lennon study and worship.

There were many John Lennons. He was the witty, intellectual one from The Beatles. He was the loving and caring bringer of the message of Love and Peace. He was a yobbish scouse Teddy Boy with a penchant for vandalising phone boxes and mugging English Sailors in Hamburg Night Clubs, he was a devoted family man who took five years out of being a super star to raise his son, he neglected and finally left his first wife and child.

He was the archetypal angry young man, with a chip on his shoulder that was bigger than his feet. He had a tragic childhood, having lost through circumstance or death at least three of the most important people in his life by the time his was 20. (One of them, his mother, he'd actually lost twice) He was violent. He put Cavern DJ Bob Wooler in hospital for jokingly inferring that Lennon was having a gay relationship with Brian Epstein. He admitted to having hit the women in his early life in jealous rages. I think this makes it all the more remarkable that he spent his later years banging on about peace; he managed to change his behaviour. He did, however, maintain that angry, sarcastic streak which could be very damaging to people.

I think he felt less musical than Paul McCartney. When they first met Paul had more ability than Lennon, despite being younger. From the outside it looks as if Paul was always more confident in this regard than Lennon, and John used bluff and sarcasm to guard against his own insecurities. At times Lennon dismissed McCartney as a schmaltzy writer of "boring songs about boring people" I think we can see his true feelings in other stories, such as how Here, There and Everywhere was his favourite song on Revolver. Personally I think that the Beatles, in particular Lennon, thrived because of their limitations. As is the case with most musical innovation they invented a lot because they couldn't quite do what they were intending to copy.

It's a well recorded fact that Lennon was insecure about his singing. If you listen it's pretty obvious. To begin with, compare the vocal on early, confident Beatles tracks with the solo stuff. Beatle Mania John's voice was thick and raucous. Solo John often had a thin, almost timid voice. Don't get me wrong, I love everything he sang. In fact the singing on a track like Jealous Guy is so beautiful because it is timid and heartfelt. His rocky voice changed too. On Beatles Rock and Roll covers he sounds like he might just kill you, and tracks like Mother and Gimme Some Truth he sounds like a man declaring all his inner issues and using them to kill himself.

Throughout his recording career he did his best to change and disguise his vocal. On the solo records he used delay and reverb effects, I've heard one producer say he wouldn't sing a note in the studio until his favourite effect was dialed in. Once the Beatles started to use four track machines practically every Lennon vocal was double tracked to sound thicker, and a little later he instigated the creation of Artificial Double Tracking, simply to save time by electronically beefing up his vocal sound rather than physically recording each vocal twice.

Even before the Beatles used studio tools and tricks to change their sound we can hear how Lennon, despite being ostensibly the lead singer, frequently used George and Paul to harmonise with him for huge sections of songs. In my view this was an attempt, perhaps unconsciously, to cover up his own singing.

Luckily for us Lennon's arrogance and wish to be leader proved to be stronger than his insecurities about singing and writing. For me the fact that the biggest cultural and musical icon of the 20th Century doubted his abilities so much only makes him more fascinating and dare I say it, inspiring.

He may have died six years before I was born, but I love the man.

No Bull; The Music Industry

2010-11-26T05:52:00.001-08:00

My friend Dave Scotford has written a book which will be out in March 2011,

'No Bull; The Music Industry' is a grassroots band guide that aims to give information and advice to bands and solo artists in the UK. The witty and informal guide to the music industry has already won both critical acclaim and writing awards for the way in which it gives musicians the arsenal to take steps in today's music world.

He has been kind enough to mention me in the book among is favourite artists. To get a free sample chapter of the book, visit his website

itunes

2010-11-16T08:21:00.001-08:00

At long last I am very happy to announce that my first EP, Twenty Two, is now available on itunes. Click this link to go to the itunes store...

To wet your appetite, here are some reviews of the EP that have recently appeared on the net.

Media Essentials

Sloucher

Excitment!

This Week

2010-11-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

Had a truly corking time at The Black Boy Inn, Bridgnorth on Saturday. Many lovely videos to share with you soon.

This week is going to be rather hectic, but in a very good way (easy to say at this point) I'm doing various Guitar Lessons, Songwriting and Band Workshops in Wolverhampton Schools, as well as my lovely private lessons.

I'm gigging tomorrow night at The Yardbird, Birmingham. My set should be around 7.30pm.

Wednesday I'm going to see Mud Morganfield, first born son of Muddy Waters at The Jam House.

Thursday I'm practicing again with the excellent Louise Killbride who has kindly asked me to play guitar for her at a gig on the 21st of November at The Public in West Bromwich.

Oh, and who can tell my why Friday is important? Hmm? Answers on postcards. Or emails, if you're boring and modern.

Upcoming gig dates

2010-10-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

Friday 22nd October
Cafe Costes. Solo Set 6pm-7pm

58 Newhall Street

Birmingham

B3 3RJ

0121 236 6072

Saturday 23rd October

Bohemia Restaurant. Solo Sets.

3 Oak Tree Lane

Selly Oak

Birmingham

B29 6JE

Call to 0121 471 2713 to book a table

Saturday 6th November

The Black Boy Inn, Bridgnorth. Band Show

Cartway

Bridgnorth

WV16 4BG

01746 764 691

Tuesday 9th November

The Yardbird Jazz Cafe

Paradise Place
Birmingham
B3 3HJ

Idols

2010-10-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

Who are your idols? With the recent anniversary of the birth of one of my inspirational heroes, I thought I might have a look at my main idols and try and put into words once and for all the effect they have had on me. First up...

Rufus Wainwright
A friend of mine had two tickets to see Rufus Wainwright at Birmingham Symphony Hall. I'm not sure if I'd even heard of Rufus at this point, but I went along to the concert and I think it changed my life really.

Everyone I've ever spoken to about Rufus Wainwright has fallen into one of two categories, they either get him and love him or they really really don't.

So, not for the first time, I'll make my case for being a fan.

First of all he has a voice that I really love. He makes singing low sound wonderful which is very rare these days. But he doesn't stay low, he has got a very balletic voice which often soars from a beautify strong low note up to a more delicate note right at the top of his range...and it never sounds difficult. Most importantly, it always serves the song.

He is so musical! On one album he well venture into Broadway, Classical, Pop, Opera, and somehow it all sounds like nobody but Rufus Wainwright. These influences often sit together in on track as well..

Most of all of course it's the songs. Just listen to The Art Teacher, Vibrate, Slideshow, Crumb by Crumb, Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk

I don't think I even gave my friend the money for the ticket....

Bohemia Restaurant

2010-09-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday 23rd of October I'll be playing a mix of orginals and covers at Bohemia in Selly Oak, Birmingham, between 7.30pm and 10.30pm

Artsfest

2010-09-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic event Artsfest was, I was really impressed with the organisation and talent on show. I performed on the Saturday at The Yardbird, and was fortunate enough to have a big and enthusiastic crowd.

Over the weekend I enjoyed the CBSO in Centenary Square along with some very impressive fireworks, Playing Django at The Town Hall, some Dance at The Symphony Hall, some Opera in The Yardbird, Fuzzbox and Arcadian Kicks on The Kerrang Stage, some really excellent Reggae in Chamberlain Square.

Walking along new street stopping at the various stalls was good fun as well.

Very much looking forward to next year.

2010-09-09T15:57:00.001-07:00

Fantastc night at the tower of song on Friday. Becky Rose and Brains for Breakfast were fabulous, and Matty Pinfield and Mick Jeynes did a great job. Videos and all sorts to follow.

Artsfest

2010-09-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Birmingham Artsfest is this weekend, there's a huge programme of Arts around the city centre, and it's all free!

My little bit of it happens at The Yardbird on Saturday, have a look at the programme (and it is Saturday the 11th, not Friday as it says on the site)

I'll also be joining the wonderful people from the Crossroads Blues Club at some point on Saturday as they man their stall on New Street. I'm not certain where it will be, but follow the sound of the delta and you should find it ok....

I'm hoping to see as much as possible over the weekend as part of my evaluation of all things cultural in Birmingham.

2010-09-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Great night at the Tower of Song last Friday, Becky Rose and Brains For Breakfast were excellent and Matty and Mick played great.

A big thanks to all the players, Lee for his help with the sound desk, Jess for doing the hat, Steve and Em for looking after the Camera, and John at the Tower for all his help.

And of course massive lovely warm thank yous to the audience, the biggest we've had at one of these nights.

Videos and all sorts to follow.

Tower of Song tomorrow

2010-09-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night, Friday the 3rd of September I'll be introducing my new band featuring Matty Pinfield and Mick Jeynes. The band will be playing the EP Twenty Two in it's entirety, as well as some covers by my biggest influences and some rocky blues tracks.

I'll also be joined by two excellent singer songwriters, Becky Rose and Brains for Breakfast.

The doors open at 8.45pm and the music starts at around 9pm.

Depending on how things go, I'm also hoping to play 1 or 2 or 3 brand new tracks that haven't been heard at a gig yet.

The gig is free entry (we will pass the hat around during the evening)

Day of The Demo

2010-08-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a demo of a new track, called Very Own Way. It's a quick video job, so the odd word or chord might be a bit fluffed. By the way my slightly glazed and not quite focusing eyes are not due to a drug habbit, but my lack of contact lenses and intense vanity regrading wearing glasses on video.

Culture in Brum

2010-08-18T08:39:00.001-07:00

My exploration of cultural things in my home city started on the afternoon of Sunday the 8th of August when I visited the Ikon Gallery. I was rather taken with the exhibition currently on at the Ikon, This Could Happen To You: Ikon in the 1970s, a collection of art work from the decade that the Ikon grew from a glass kiosk in the bullring to a shop front in the Palisades.

I've never been to the Ikon before, in fact my only association with the place in the past is limited to an unsuccessful job application as a student. I liked the gallery a lot, it was a good size for some laid back art looking at. On the way to the Ikon I also popped my head inside the gallery at the ICC which currently has some paintings by Bob Dylan. This gallery is a lot of fun because the paintings are for sale, and so you can see how much people spend on this sort of thing .

Next up I strolled through the city centre and was surprised and impressed to see three great busking acts, including a lovely jazz guitarist and a gypsy jazz Django Reinhardt type trio. I noticed that The Staffordshire Hoard was once again on display at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The large crowds that flocked to the hoard when it was on temporary display shortly after it was found have happily gone and I was able to enjoy the unbelievably delicate and beautiful pieces in relative solitude. Like everyone I was very impressed with the intricate work that had gone into the hoard, and it made me smile to see some pieces had little signs by them explaining cheerfully that no one is really sure what they are.

I finished off my cultural Sunday with a visit to the Yardbird Jazz Club, where my friend Brains for Breakfast was playing a set at The Free Love Club. Mr Breakfast played a great set and the two of us had a good time enjoying the many wonderful acts that played and meeting some cool people.

So Brum impressed me on this occasion, and I recommend each of the places I visited. I'll be back to each of them because one of the great things about all of them is that they constantly have new exhibits and work to share.

Spaghetti Gazetti

2010-08-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Some promo for the Tower of Song gig

Something fishy

2010-08-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of the tunatheday website?

Every day they feature a new artist as their Catch of the day and today it's my turn..

It's a nice site, with an active community sharing music and opinions. Go along to the site and have a look, and leave and comment if you feel so inclined

StoryJohn

2010-08-07T16:42:00.001-07:00

My track Pessimistic Me has been featured on the excellent StoryJohn podcast, episode 46.

It's a wonderful monthly show featuring story telling, music, techy reviews and all sorts of things, have a listen!

2010-08-07T13:02:00.001-07:00

So, I've got some more gigs together with the band I formed back in May for a "one off" gig in Bridgnorth.

Except that it's not quite the same band. Ken Stratford, the wonderful Double Bassist who can be heard on Pessimistic Me and seen in the videos from the said Bridgnorth gig, will be away for a few months. So I've recruited another musician I've met through playing at the fantastic Crossroads Blues Club, Mick Jeynes to join us on electric bass.

I meet up with Mick this week to play him the tracks we will be doing, and teach him the bass parts for my originals. This was fine, as far as the tracks I know the bass parts for. You see the thing is that I played bass on three of the tracks from Twenty Two, whilst the remaining two feature Matty on electric bass and Ken as mentioned above. Now, I know more or less what they played, because I wrote the songs and was sitting right next to them as we came up with and put the parts down, but I have trouble remembering what I myself did yesterday, let alone what someone else did months ago. Plus the fact Ken's part was played on an instrument I can't even play...

And to add another layer to the fun, I had to sit and actually work out what I myself had played on the tracks I played bass on. Like I did when I taught them to Ken, and didn't think to write them down for reference later.

So this time I not only gave Mick chord sheets, but hand written (and beautiful) bass tabs like this one, with instructions to be as free as he likes and keep what he thinks is good. Because things are never finished are they? They keep changing and I don't want to get all these great musicians on board and not have them put ideas forward.

2010-08-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

Friday 3rd September 2010
Robert Lane returns to the Tower of Song. This time the local singer songwriter will introduce his brand new band, featuring the talents of Matty Pinfield on Drums, Simon Davies on Keys and Mick on Bass. A regular Crossroads Blues Club attendee, Robert has recently performed at The ForumLive area of The LG Arena, Birmingham, before concerts by Mark Knopfler and John Mayer. He formed the new band for a one of gig in Bridgnorth, and had so much fun he’s decided to get them together again at his favourite venue.

The band will be playing Robert’s originals as well as a whole host of Blues covers and tracks by some of Robert’s biggest influences. Robert will be supported by the excellent Becky Rose, Worcester based Singer Songwriter and Pianist. As on the previous two occasions, there will be no door entry but the hat will be passed around during the interval. It all kicks of at 9pm

2010-07-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

The Gig (a story)

2010-07-18T09:21:00.001-07:00

It’s been booked for a few weeks. Because it is venue you have not played at before, you make the decision to be there early. This is something of a risky stratagem because you know there is a fairly good chance that nothing will be happening when you get there, no one will be around. But on occasions such as this you figure it’s worth risking being a bit bored for half an hour, because at other times when you did get there just in the nick of time you had a bit of a telling off from the soundman/promoter/first act for cutting it fine and then had to sound check in front of the audience, or go without a warm up altogether.

So you get there at the time requested, or just before. If it turns out that the was no reason to be there early then the journey will have been painless and taken less time than you had expected. If, however, it would have been extremely fortuitous to have plenty of time free before the gig to sound check, set up the swag desk and meet the other acts, then traffic, directions and weather will have conspired to use up the time you set aside to get there and spit it back at you, taunting your planning and making you 20 or 30 or 45 minutes late. Either way the familiar feeling in the pit of your stomach appears as you round the last corner leading to the venue and you set eyes on it for the first time.

You sound check to a nice empty room, then have time to kill. If you have a lover/friend/family member with you, you get them a drink (if the bar is open) if you’re alone, this is the point where you remember you forgot to remember to put a book or newspaper in your bag. You might chat to the soundman or promoter, or one of the other acts. This can kill a nice bit of time, and you can learn a lot about the venue and the local circuit. If you’re supporting a more established artist, then you try your best to make friends and share stories with them without being a pain. You are shy, and feel not great at being upfront and inquisitive whilst not annoying, and are relived if a little disarmed to discover everyone is friendly and full of great stories.

The doors open, and the crowd makes a big show of not piling in, simply because it isn’t there. The start time is nudged back because it looks fairly certain the only people in the room so far are in fact in the wrong one, and are expecting something quite unlike the concert you are all about to give.

Waiting. If that lover/friend/family member is with you then you try your best not to look disappointed and try to find the positives in the situation. You speak some words that you yourself don’t listen to and your companion responds by pointing out the positives in the situation, which are of course the same three feeble points that you yourself are hanging on to, and that always make an appearance at this point.

You go to the toilet. Again (his is how your nerves manifest.) Looking in the mirror you can confirm that you’re sweating already, and that your hair is sitting in exactly the way it’s been asked or maybe ordered not to. On coming out of the toilet however relief is your next emotion because the room has filled up nicely.

Finally the time comes and you are performing. You do your set. Impossible to judge thanks to the lights that prevent you from reading the faces which you would normally use as sign posts on the long road towards audience appreciation. Yet again you arrive at the curious state, purely of your own making, where you are both enjoying playing and hating every note of it. You finish performing and leave the stage, trying your best to look normal as you walk through the crowd you have just played too. Still in the emotional and analytical dark as far as your performance you somewhat reluctantly man the merch desk for the short interval between you and the next act.

Euphoria. Success. CDs sold, mailing list populated, web presences recorded on ticket stubs. You hang on to kind words and try to make mental records of names and venues discussed with knowledgeable concert-goers.

2010-07-15T11:46:00.001-07:00

Well, bad luck Brum.

I've just decided on a new mini mission; each month I'm going to visit and then blog about one Birmingham arty type event or place I haven't been to before. The idea being to decide for myself if the UK City of Culture people are missing out on something, or if they are fully justified.

Unfortunately I'm not in a position to visit Derry at the moment, so it's not going to be the fairest or unbiased of views I end up with, but I still think it's worth doing.

Being born and raised in Brum I've visited a fair few of the places in the city, but there's many more I haven't. Any suggestions on places to see are very welcome.

Too late for a bet

2010-07-15T06:30:00.001-07:00

It's too late to bet on Birmingham (or anyone else) to be UK City of Culture. BBC News

I guess it seems a bit odd that I haven't mentioned the bid up till now, and it's not going to matter an artichoke after 7pm tonight when the winning city is revealed on The One Show, but I think I've kept quite because I was a bit skeptical about it all. Just now though, I think it could be rather wonderful.

Return to The Tower of Song

2010-07-15T02:41:00.001-07:00

On the 3rd of September I'll be returning to The Tower of Song, this time with the band in tow.

Once again the show will be free entry, and we'll pass the hat around during the evening. I'll be announcing support acts and more details over the next couple of weeks.

New Gig Dates

2010-07-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

I'm returning to Cox's Yard, Stratford on September the 23rd. The gig will be free entry and it's a very nice venue on the river side. Last time I went it was absolutely freezing, but still very pretty. Hopefully this time everyone can be sitting around outside in the evening Sunshine...

I'll also be playing again at the Black Boy Inn, Bridgnorth on October 22nd. This show will feature a full band set, the line up of the band to be announced nearer the time.

I'm hoping soon to announce another Friday night at the Tower of Song, Birmingham. This night will also feature the band.

You'll know more as soon as I do!

On The Radio

2010-07-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

My track Well Adjusted was featured on the The Unsigned Show presented by Jade Curley on Big City FM on Monday the 5th of July. You can hear the show via a podcast here

Each artist was also asked to suggest a favourite song by a signed artist, and my choice was Better Than by The John Butler Trio which follows Well Adjusted.

The show goes out live on Big City FM every monday night at 7pm.

Many thanks to Jade for the play...

2010-07-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

Another video from the Black Boy Inn. Some clips of some original tracks featuring the talents of the musicians who were kind enough to perform with me on the night.

I/we should be returning to The Black Boy in October...

Have you ever?

2010-06-22T05:46:00.002-07:00

Have you ever bought a book for a bit of a joke in a second hand bookshop in Tenby, South Wales...

...and actually found it to be very well put together, with some nice hand drawn cartoons and exercises that you might just find useful for helping people understand how a bit of music theory works?

2010-06-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here's some rather nice words from Rob Langley-Swain, Markerting Communictaions Manager at The LG Arena;

Rob entered the LG Arena's first ever talent competition using facebook as an audition mechanism.

There was very fierce competition with more than 40 very talented singer/songwriters entering. These performers included recording artists signed to international labels, and one who had even written a top ten hit for singer Daniel Merriwether.

Rob's audition video struck the right chord with the panel of judges and he was selected as one of the top 8 and asked to come and perform at the arena.

Rob took part on our Singer/songwriter stage in the forumLIVE at the LG Arena prior to Eric Clapton and John Mayer's main stage performances in May and went down really well with the crowd!

We've no doubt he'll be invited back when we do something similar in the future!!!!

Stripped Down

2010-06-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday the 15th of June I'm hosting the third Stripped Down evening at The Tower of Song.

I played in the open mic slot of last week's event, and the gig had a really nice feel so I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow. As it's such a new night it's all about building momentum at the moment, so it would be wonderful to see as many faces down there as possible.

As well as an open mic session which will feature Reece Page and comedy from Lee Goodall, there will be featured slots from myself and hopefully some or all of The Young Runaways. Any musicians/comedians/story tellers/poets who want an open mic slot, feel free to come down and I'll try and fit everyone in.

It all kicks off at 8.45pm, and it is free entry. Here's the address

The Tower of Song

107 Pershore Road South

Cotteridge

BIRMINGHAM

B30 3JX

2010-06-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

It seems I've become a bit slow at putting info on here, and this is already over a week old, but never mind.

Last Friday I performed at The Black Boy Inn, Bridgnorth. The gaffer of the pub wanted a band for the night, so I formed one with the best musicians I know. Two practices later, and away we go with or first number, a cover of "Matchbox"

LG Arena, Mark Knopfler and John Mayer

2010-06-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

I've got so much to tell you!

First of all there was the LG Arena gigs, where I performed before concerts by Mark Knopfler and John Mayer.

The gigs had come about after a Facebook competition held by The LG Arena to find the best singer songwriters to perform in The ForumLive area of the arena where the concert goers hang out and get their drinks and snacks before going through to the main arena. Over forty musicians applied by uploading videos to a Facebook Event Page which were then judged by a panel made up of important types at the arena. Seven Singer Songwriters were chosen to perform across three nights.

My first night was on Sunday May 23rd, performing to the seven thousand people waiting to see the amazing Mark Knopfler. I played three 20 minutes sets on that first night, and then had the privilege of seeing the legend at work.

The following night I performed two sets before the John Mayer concert which three thousand people attended. Seeing this concert from the VIP area was a particular treat because I've been wanting to see him perform for a long time, and he was fantastic.

Both evenings were great fun and the audiences were incredibly receptive to the unexpected and unknown musicians performing before the concerts, so thanks very much to everyone who was there. A massive thank you to the organisers and judges at The LG for picking me and looking after me so well.

Thanks to Mark Woodward for taking these photos.

Fate?

2010-05-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

I sometimes think that in this game it's something of an advantage to believe in fate. Often I'm reassured that things are going well if there is a little pointer, a note of reference to something that seemed totally unrelated. I'm sure this kind of thing happens to everyone, and people might have different names and explanations for it. I'd just like to share this one little coincidence.

The very day that I found out I'd been selected to perform before Mark Knoplfer at the LG Arena, I decided to read a book that I started reading many years ago, stopped reading, thought about reading for a bit and finally just didn't, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams.

It was all going swimmingly well, and then this little passage presented itself

"Mark Knopfler has an extraordinary ability to make a Scheter Custon Stratocaster hoot and sing like angels on a Saturday night, exhausted from being good all week and needing a stiff beer"

I can confirm that on Sunday night, he did do this.

Thinking aboutit, back when we were recording Pessimistic Me Matty was listening to some Mark Knopfler, and I admitted I hadn't heard much of his music. Matty said, in what didn't seem and ironic voice "you'd like him, he plays guitar like you." Not very accurate (other way round if anything, but not really because Knopfler makes strats sound like naughty angels, and I don't) but nice. And another odd coincidence, or do I sound like a nutter?

LG Arena

2010-05-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

Very exciting news, I'm performing at the LG Arena...twice!

This Sunday, the 23rd of May I'll be playing in the Forum Live area of the arena, before a Mark Knopfler concert.

The next night, Monday the 24th of May I'll performing there again before John Mayer hits the arena stage.

More details to follow...

Pessimistic Me

2010-04-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

There's a brand new recording in the player on the right, and on the Music page. The track is called Pessimistic Me, and is one of two recorded a couple of weeks ago at the home studio of my friend Matty Pinfield.

Many thanks to the musicans playing on the track,
Simon Davies on Piano
Ken Stratford on Double Bass
Matty Pinfield on Drums and Percussion

Have a listen, and let me know what you reckon...

Crossroads

2010-04-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, the 15th April I was asked to kick off the open mic session at the Crossroads Blues club. As anyone who reads this blog with any regularity will know, The Tower of Song and it's Thursday night Crossroads Blues Club are among my favourite clubs around.

Last week sums up what I love about The Crossroads. The gig was to turn up and lead the house band through a few blues songs. The fun bit is that there isn't a house band-it's formed from whoever happens to be around on the night. So the set started of with me singing Matchbox joined by Mal on snare drum and Tony on harp, and we were slowly joined by a bass player (sorry, didn't catch your name...) and finally Snake on guitar. Once I'd sang about five tunes Snake took over for two before we got off and let a whole host of musicians perform short sets. After the break the excellent Mellow Peaches played the featured set. Once again the place was full to bursting, and from the people I spoke to it seems I wasn't the only one having a very enjoyable night.

Here are some pictures taken and very kindly sent to me by Stan Newton

2010-04-18T08:11:00.001-07:00

It has been a very busy fortnight since my last post, and circumstances have once again left me unable to do much communicating with the world at the very moment when there's an awful lot happening I'd like to shout about!

First of all, a beautiful short break in Pembrokeshire with my lovely girlfriend, parents, brother, sister in law and baby niece was the perfect way to relax a little and get some perspective on the busy week that was ahead of me. This has got nothing to do with music but I really love, with a frankly worrying zeal, everything about Saundersfoot, Tenby and the surrounding areas. I did when I was twelve, and I can confidently say I always will. I think we're successfully passing it on to a third generation of our family too, as Baby Lily had a fabulous time, and she isn't easily pleased.

Back in the West Midlands and I'm stepping on stage at The Robin 2, Bilston. I was supporting Edwina Hayes (I mentioned her and talked a bit about her bio in the last post) and was very pleased to find a warm and welcoming audience, many of whom were kind enough to come and chat with me, buy my CD and join the Robert Lane mailing list.

As for Edwina herself she was very friendly and passed on a few cool stories from her time supporting musicians as diverse as Jools Holland and Loudon Wainwright III. This kind of unassuming but thoroughly interesting anecdote also populated her set, alongside fabulous originals and some great covers that introduced me to some new artists.

She also had Mark Wynn along for the drive from up north who delivered a short set of bluesy folk tunes.

Here's a couple of slightly unlit pictures of Edwina and I taken by one of her super-fans

The gig was great, and I'm hoping to return to The Robin very soon. The rest of that week was spent in the studio working on two new tracks. More inf0 to come...

The Robin 2

2010-03-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

On Sunday April 11th I will be performing for the first time at The Robin 2 in Wolverhampton, supporting Edwina Hayes.

Edwina is a very successful singer songwriter who has opened several shows for Van Morrison, twenty-six shows for Jools Holland, toured the UK four years in a row with Nanci Griffith and performed twice for Michael Parkinson at his Maidenhead pub The Royal Oak. She has also toured the UK with and supported shows for artists including Gretchen Peters, Loudon Wainwright III, Roy Harper, Sandi Thom, Tom Baxter, Boo Hewerdine, KT Tunstall, Clive Gregson, Chris Difford, Ruby Turner and Lulu. Find out more about Edwina and hear her music at her website

Tickets for the show are £10 in advance and £12 on the door, and can be purchased on the Robin's website or by calling 01902 401211.

The Yardbird

2010-03-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, March 28th, I'm performing at The Yardbird in Birmingham city centre.

This lovely little venue is a one of the best around, right in the middle of Birmingham (Paradise Place, by Centenary Square, Broad Street, Hall of memory, the Library and The Rep etc)

The gig is free in, and if this Facebook Event page is any indication it's looking like its going to be a very busy gig indeed...

I Should be on around 4.15pm

More info on the Live page.

Pessimistic Me

2010-03-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

Notes

2010-02-28T13:51:00.000-08:00

I'm excitedly looking forward to playing at the wonderful Birmingham Custard Factory on March 14th.

The gig, called Notes, is hosted by Rouge Play Theatre and takes place at The Mixing Bowl Theatre within the Custard Factory complex.

If you've never heard of The Custard Factory before here's a bit of history from it's website;

The Custard Factory, Birmingham’s revolutionary new arts and media quarter, is 800 paces from the Bull Ring. This 5-acre sprawl of riverside factories was built 100 years ago by Sir Alfred Bird, the inventor of custard. At one time he had a thousand people making the stuff. Some even say it helped create the British Empire. But by the early 1980s it had long since lost its mysterious appeal and the factories fell derelict.

We took it over in 1990. We began to restore the buildings and announced open house (and studio) to the best of Birmingham’s young creative talent. The rush to come in was overwhelming. Since then a whole new inner city neighbourhood has begun to emerge – intricate, fine grained and threaded by green spaces, fountains and sculpture.

The award-winning first phase is home to a dynamic bohemian community of 500 artists and small creative enterprises. The affordable studio workshops are complemented by a theatre café, antique shops, meeting rooms, dance studios, holistic therapy rooms, art galleries, bars and nightclubs.

The second phase is underway…