Oooo... Halloweeeeeen!!!

I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/oct/23/halloween-dog-parade-new-york#/?picture=367994639&index=0

xx
P

Oh to be Blunt!

This might shock some people but I went to see James Blunt do a showcase the other night. Did I buy tickets? Heck no! Why did I go? Hmm... well I'll spare you the details of my day job, but I can disclose that it is music-bizz and sometimes that means going to shows you wouldn't necessarily go to if choosing to do so of your own free will. The evening was well-timed in my social agenda as it was the day before payday and this event boasted a free bar.

Now do you see why I went?

A few things struck me when I was there.

1. He actually has a good singing voice. I know it kind of grates the nerves, however live he could really belt it out. So power to him and his pretty-much, pitch-perfect voice.
2. The venue was a stunning old church in Mayfair, it was such a gorgeous place; it was a treat to look around at all the stained glass and that sort of thing.
3. Did I mention there was a free bar?

It also really put some things in perspective for me. He's like a totally famous guy in a mainstream kind of way, he's got a major label behind him helping him to 'shift units' etc... It makes me wonder if anyone truly quirky or original will fail to break through because of the way the music industry is going these days.

Janis Joplin would have never made it through to the final round of X Factor. I'm not even sure Nirvana would catch an A&R man's ear in this day and age. Gone are the times when people sign acts like Kate Bush because they want to nurture an artist's career. It's all a get-rich-quick scheme in some last desperado attempt at keeping a sinking ship afloat.

I'm glad to be an indie chick. I'm proud to DIY it. What I want is to make music for years and years to come, not be some flash in the pan who gets dropped when there is a failure to go platinum or if I don't get enough synchs, etc... that being said, it would be fun to play in a posh church in Mayfair, with a free bar for friends and fans. Maybe one day, I'll do it my way.

xx
P

We are so darn excited!!

HI there, well we're just really excited that our album is coming out on Damaged Goods in October, see?
http://damagedgoods.greedbag.com/buy/jesus-wept

By all means come to our album launch party at the Lexington on the 7th of September
You can get tix here
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=403287&referral_id=tw_uk_buyat

Hope to see y'all there for a proper hoe-down!

xx
P

Wha happened?

Soooo much... maybe I'll work my way backwards.

I was out with The Other Woman women to talk about a secret project we are going to launch in August. Exciting isn't it? Watch this space for more as it won't be a secret forever.

The other night, me and two brilliant women went to see Patrick Watson at Tabernacle in West London. And really, it was one of the best gigs I've seen for ages! His voice channels Cab Calloway but he's in this scruffy, indie-boy package. The string quartet put a really marvelous spin on what are already good songs, his piano playing has a beautiful simplicity like Philip Glass, but what struck me most was the multi-megaphone contraption he strapped to his back before venturing out into the crowd acoustic style. It was otherworldly! Amazing!

Sunday was the 4th of July... the day of my people's independence. I guess I've been living in London so long that it slips my mind to buy fireworks and that sort of thing. But I did make a strawberry and cream cheese cake for Dan, because he's agreed to master my single (thanks Dan!). So my day was spent nursing a headache, baking a cake, doing housy things like laundry and cleaning and that sort of thing. Sometimes those days are good days, the days when not much happens, right?

My Sleep Thief went to Beirut so to busy myself I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream with Barny and George and her friend Ian. It was great... because Store Street was converted into a pop up park. That was so neat! Then we went to the park near Buckingham Palace for Simon Roadshow's birthday party. They didn't close the park till midnight, and I wondered if drinking in the park after dark was a little like being a tramp? It doesn't bear thinking about because what's fun is fun!

I went to see Patty Smith in Hyde Park, which was amazing. She did all her famous ranting and the theatrics of her performance were mesmerizing. She's a bit of a living legend. Backstage before the gig I saw Morrissey! It was all I could do not to steal his wine when he got up, I wondered would it be a bit like communion, the body of Christ shed for you... so if you are what you eat/drink would I be a little bit Morrissey? I lost my nerve so we'll never know the truth. Sleep Thief was playing with Fionn before Patty Smith and I shed a small tear during their set. Foxy was with me, and he was silent too.

Before all of that was Glastonbury and Sleep Thief was gone for days. Some people think I'm insane to turn down a free, backstage pass to Glastonbury but I'm not the happiest camper and I had songs to stay home and write, people to see, cardigans to embroider with scenes from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. So I choose my choice!

Wha happened to you? Long time no see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SHRFhfeLgY
xx
P

what goes up must come down

Is it Sunday night blues time? I had a fabulous P.G. day out at The Clothes Show on Friday and spent the rest of the weekend doing practical things. Either work, or Piney stuff (artwork and b-sides) or cleaning the house... at least I could do single artwork outside because it was one of London's rare sunny weekends. Sleep Thief was at Glasto (playing like 5 times) so it's been far too productive back at the ranch. Tomorrow should be Saturday, not Monday. There's a sad cloud over London since the football didn't go well today shouldn't that entitle us to a National Holiday? A day of mourning perhaps? I don't even give much of a hoot about football, I just like bank holidays. Ah well, if only I was Queen I could make it so...

Where were you when... & what did he mean to you?

Where were you when Michael Jackson died? I was on a pirate ship type-of-boat at some Dutch ad agency's party just off the coast of the south of France. I started getting texts from my friends in England with the news. I didn't believe it, or thought it was a hoax until the boat moored and we were able to find a TV. The TVs were all in French though, so I could only make out little bits of what they were saying about it. At that point he was in the hospital and I wondered if those O2 shows were going to go ahead. It didn't occur to me then that he might not be okay in the long run. So then American Tony blagged us in to some beach party and I didn't give it much thought until the DJs started playing some extended mix of Billy Jean and people went crazy... Dancing and crying and hugging each other on the dance floor and then I knew he didn't make it and I shed a little tear myself.

Some people have mixed feelings about Michael. For me, I have a fondness for his music. He made such an impression on me when I was just a kid living with my grandparents in Wisconsin and every Saturday me and my cousin would go roller skating. I had never heard music like the music they played when we were skating and Michael Jackson's Thriller album had just come out that year. Every song on that record is brilliant and I learned all the words. Having really only listened to Christian rock and old-fashioned music (like Doris Day), Michael represented this whole new sound, this modern, shiny, secular world. He was pop perfect. So what did he mean to you?

And where were you when it happened?

xx
P

back to the blog

It's been a good day, so I'm starting up my blog again; I'll keep it short... what a long ol' year it's been (and it's only half way through). Rather than try and sum up what's happened between Christmas and now I'm just going to pick up where I am, today. Welcome to my world.

Everyone seems to be talking about football (it is the World Cup after all innit? It seems like folks takes this stuff seriously somehow). So I joined in at work, we watched the game and it was fun to be around so many people who cared so much.

Then I discovered this beautiful part of London and I didn't know that it even existed (I thought I knew everywhere in London by now). It reminded me of Cannes and I met with the girls I went to Cannes with last year (seems a bit fateful, like a reunion). Surrounded by lush plants, on a warm summer's evening it was pretty idyllic... rally it was.

We caught up on old times, new times, and shared some good gossip, handy fashion tips & exciting news (that isn't public yet so I'm not allowed to say what it is) eep!

And so I get home, and feel like writing. Here you go. How was your day?

xx

P

Shucks!

I got so busy, I never got round to finishing up our tour blog, rest assured the gigs were great, we met a lot of nice people out there in the world and we're gearing up for spring, whoop whoop!

xx

P