Very happy to say I'm playing at the Isle of Wight Festival again this year on the Kashmir Cafe stage - Sunday 11th June at 7.50pm. Do come and say hello if you're there, it's going to be a great festival and the Kashmir is a great stage (they've even got special guests Wheatus playing the day before and their beer is the stuff of legends) Full line up here.
Mark Morriss
I'm also supporting the mighty Mark Morriss from The Bluetones in Aberdeen at Drummonds on 1st September. Tickets here. I love love love playing in Scotland, huge thanks to AGP for inviting me.
More shows to be announced soon...
The Hospital Club
The packed Hospital Club gig was great, thanks to everyone who came down for it and to Darling Boy for hosting! Here's a version of 'Stepping Up' which will be appearing on my forthcoming album.
* NOT LIVE *
I've been doing some advance work on my next album - it's going to have quite a different feel from 'Travelling Man', I'm really excited for you to hear it though the main recording sessions are yet to come.
Jon
* FORMERLY LIVE *
It was an honour working with Mike Batt on his musical 'Men Who March Away' which premiered at St.Anne's Church in Limehouse accompanied by the Docklands Sinfonia Players and a hugely talented cast and crew. I also got to play guitar with a full symphony orchestra, which was really quite special!
Keeping out of trouble with my guitar at the back
Second on the right with some of the amazing cast
Mike and I
I really hope it gets some kind of tour because it's full of really great music and a witty script and deserves to be successful. It's always something to work with someone you admire so much, and Mike's talent - not least at songwriting - is something to aspire to match.
* FILMED LIVE*(then edited, then award winning)
Some great reviews and laurels for the short film 'Interception' directed by Jesper Emborg and featuring the epic acting talents of Ben Gardner Gray and Francesca Fraser. You can watch it below.
* ALIVE WITH MUSIC *
All three of my special 'Your Favourite Songs You've Never Heard' can be streamed or downloaded from here. Number four will be up soon, followed by an acoustic special.
More soon! Nigel. X “I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most
importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the
keys to learning.” Plato. "Acting? It was my left eyebrow raised, right eyebrow raised." Roger Moore
I'm very pleased to announce I'll be recording my first proper solo album at Tilehouse Studios in January with a group of some of the best session musicians in the country.
Here's a little sample of what we've done already (this one recorded at Bowerman Studios) and yes, it contains real harp, violin and cello.
There are live videos for 'Fever' and 'Travelling Man' both of which will appear on the album if you fancy other, very different tasters!
You can still currently download my acoustic album, 'Third Movement' for free from here. It'll be deleted at the end of the year, so get it while you can. MUSIC VIDEOS I'm featured in the new Rizzle Kicks music video 'Skip to the Good Bit' which samples the famous EMF song. Here it is:
Earlier this year I was also lucky enough to feature in the music video to 'Footsteps' from The Jar Family which you can see here. They're a great band, well worth checking out.
My penchant for making low-fi music videos for The Foxes album tracks continue with this latest offering for "Sweet Little Wonder". It features all of us in the bath, which will both delight and shock in (un)equal measure.
Candlestick director Chris Presswell who helped with filming this also made a very special little stop-motion/layered video test called 'Nigel Gets What He Deserves' which is both spiritually correct and rather amusing. Chris was also responsible for taking the photo of me which was featured in the final episode of one of my all time favourite TV comedies, The IT Crowd on Channel 4.
To quote Chris himself: "The episode is currently available on 4oD."
THE FILM The new feature film I'm in, Candlestick, is 'a stylish Hitchcock style thriller'. The production team have just finished recording the score with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (which provided the music to such films as The Sixth Sense, District 9 and Mullholland Drive) and it'll be out in 2014.
Never one to turn down the chance to wear a bright green full body jumpsuit, I'm the 'game head' in this Stride advert for Gumulon. I also have a beard in this, which I quite like.
Using my geeky acting side to its extreme, I play Francis in this comedy viral ad. It's fine, I want to hit myself quite a bit in this too.
Thank you to everyone who came to see me in Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens at the Leicester Square Theatre this summer, directed by Stuart Saint. It was glittery, challenging and a lot of fun.
Until next time.... Much love, Nigel. P.S. I found this: 'Hit or Miss' by Odetta Holmes. It's great. P.P.S. You can still find me dj'ing Death2Disco every week at Notting Hill Arts Club. I book the bands too, feel free to make suggestions. P.P.P.S. Real or not, this video has completely cured me. P.P.P.P.S. Pub quiz?
“While we look to the dramatist to give romance to realism, we ask of the actor to give realism to romance.”Oscar Wilde.
"I got tiger blood, man. My brain...fires in a way that is - I don't
know, maybe not from this particular terrestrial realm." Charlie Sheen.
While we look to the dramatist to give romance to realism, we ask of the actor to give realism to romance.
I've been way too busy to post anything since October...so what's been going on?!
Well, you won't be surprised to hear a lot of gigging has happened and we played with The Buzzcockson the Isle of Wight a few weeks ago, from which the live video above to "Get Me" is taken. There's loads more live videos on our Youtube page, and photos from the gig are here. It really was a brilliant night, and thanks to Doug Alldred and Airon Baker from Blunt Promotions for putting on the show. Special thanks to Doug for the quite incredible aftershow party, of which we're not going to say too much (stronger Honey next time Doug?!) apart from it went on past 7am and Doug makes the BEST cocktails...oh, and his Guinness "surge" device is amazing, as is his vinyl collection.
The Buzzcocks were really nice chaps, and we had quite a time with them after the show. Must remember to include four bottles of Champagne on my next rider too....
Well, the big news is that from 17th to 21st January, we'll be recording a brand new 4 track EP at Sawmills Studios with producer John Cornfield. John produced and mixed several of my favourite albums, including "Origin of Symmetry" by Muse, and "In it for the Money" by Supergrass, though he's also worked with Razorlight, Oasis, Robert Plans, The Verve, The Stone Roses etc. The studio is in the most beautiful areas of Cornwall, and can only be accessed by boat...yes, we'll be transporting all the equipment from our van to the studio by the river, as you can see from this photo:
We've firmly decided on three of the four tracks we'll be recording...which are:
We're still pondering as to the fourth track....which will either be "Country Low" (which you can hear on my Facebook page here) or a new version of an old song "Run" (which you can hear here).
We also need to decide upon a NAME for the EP...which might be based on some of my lyrics - suggestions welcome on all counts, though don't feel bad if they're ignored...it just means they're rubbish.
Oh, and "Lover, Killer" has been used by a New Zealand company in a Skiing video which you can see here. It's also now up on Air New Zealand, if you happen to fly with them....
ANYWAY, all of this is all piffle, compared to the GIGANTIC NEWS that the FANS IN OUR VAN HAVE NOW BEEN FIXED. No, we don't carry repaired girls around in it, I mean the HEATING is fixed. What better time to have done that too, than aftermonths of FREEZING COLD?! Honestly, this will improve my life immensely, and I might finally start to feel better. We'll be announcing a big UK tour shortly, and I think we all would have frozen to death without this. The wheel that nearly came off the van when we were driving (which would have killed us), has also been fixed. So that's good.
Those of you who have had the time and strength of mind to have read my previous blog entries will know that I had....er...ALL my stuff stolen on my wild European Road Trip with Jonno in September. Luckily I was insured, and you'll all be as delighted as I was to hear that out of about £2,000 worth of stuff stolen, I've received the princely sum of £164.74. Isn't life so very fair?!
However, on the bright side, I DID manage to get another Mickey Mouse top after months of searching Ebay.
The photo above and right is HMS Warrior in Portsmouth Harbour, which I took just before getting the ferry to the Isle of Wight. Pretty pretty!
IN THE NEXT BLOG: There'll be news (and maybe even a snippet) of the World Cup song I've been asked to write, as well as video compilation I'm putting together from the filming I did on the YETI tour way back in 2008....PLUS more random photos and weird videos.
I'll leave you with photos from our Death Disco Christmas Party, and just for a laugh, a video (which someone uploaded just six months ago and I found by chance) of our playing a song we never play anymore nearly two years ago.....ah, the memories!
"Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape." William S. Burroughs.
Firstly, if you want to drive in to Amsterdam - don't! The streets are flooded with bicycles, and it doesn't welcome cars. Due to being hungover from our Hamburg gig, photo above, we left Germany late after a very nice lunch with Christina (I hope your door is ok!) and it was already dark by the time we entered Amsterdam. We must have spent around two hours hunting for a space, ALL of which you have to pay for, even in the suburbs. Not only that, but the road signs are either non-existant or tiny tiny tiny...by the time we found our space (it cost 45 Euro to park there for the day) it was about 10pm, and a long walk to the station to meet my old school mate Rich, who owns a lovely flat in the heart of Amsterdam, and the red light district.
Rich's flat, which he's renovating, is awesome and has lovely original wooden beams (see, I pay attention!) and a more awesome view of "The Sex Palace" across the street (as you can see from the photo). I'd never been to Amsterdam before, but of course had heard about the women in the windows...it was still a bit of a shock to see it in reality though. The thought of paying for sex (other than emotionally) has never entered my head, and this only flickered for the briefest of moments when looking at some truly beautiful girls trying to get our attention from their windows. It seems like ALL tastes are catered for however, and some of the ladies on other streets had...um...a bit more to love, and on one street, more penises. It's a good place to people watch, especially seeing the sheepish look on guys faces as they leave the brothels, and sneaky, slightly shadly look of those selecting their lady pick 'n' mix...
You really don't need to smoke in Amsterdam to get high, as a huge number of streets have "coffee shops" with chilled, happy people in, and the sweet smell is unavoidable when you're outside. Thought of Bill Hicks, and how he wanted to make pot not only legal, but mandatory ("Shut up and smoke this.." "Woah, cheers dude. For a moment there I was taking life seriously!")
There is another side to Amsterdam however, which is one of incredibly beautiful and well preserved old buidings, quiant little art shops, elegant boats on the canal and a generally friendly, welcoming atmosphere. By total chance, we parked our car on Prinsengracht street, which, at number 267, also happens to be the street where Anne Frank went in to hiding in 1942. I'd only read her diary for the first time last year, and it had a big effect on me - so Jonno and I went to her house, and it was an incredibly moving experience. On one hand, it made me thoughtful and sad about how many millions of innocent people suffered and died during the war, but also filled me with a kind of happiness in seeing so many people queuing to visit her hiding place, and the thought that her greatest wish was to become a famous writer and how happy and amazed she'd be at how big an impact her diaries have had, and how positive their influence has been. If you've never read her diary, I'd really strongly recommend it. There are few other books of any kind which will make you want to sieze the day and follow your dreams, in a way Anne sadly was never able to.
Long ago, my Dad wrote a song called "Call Girl" which I always knew I'd have to play in Amsterdam, the video for which is below. I don't get stage fright, but it was a little unnerving playing this song in the heart of the red light district not only because of the lyrics, but because I'd no idea if an attack from a brothel house bouncer was on the way...I guess the girls aren't really used to being entertained themselves....
The drive out of Amserdam and along to Brugge in Belgium was the worst we'd encountered on the trip - lots of traffic and big delays. It was worth it though for Brugge, perhaps the most beautiful city we'd visited on the trip and on par with Stockholm in that if I had someone special, I'd want to take them there! It's a town entirely surrounded by a moat, and you have to go through a castle gate to enter it, a theme which continues throughout as it's like a medieval town, with virtually no modern buildings, and the most wonderful cobbled squares where you can relax by the fountains and watch horse drawn carriages clip clop by.
We only had a few hours there sadly, but I'm definitely going back one day. The little photo I've uploaded on the right really doesn't do it justice - I'm going to upload a whole feast of photos from the trip over the next few days, but for now I suggest you google Brugge, and you'll see exactly what I mean. Disney can only dream of making somewhere this fairytale, special and real.
Due to picking the wrong lane in Calais at customs we missed our ferry by 3 minutes, and had to wait an hour for the 11.15pm one. Jonno's war cry of "I HATE YOU....YOU C**T" a few seconds after a polite "thank you" to the ticket man will remain in my memory for a long time.
We're back in England now, and I'm having to slowly buy all the things which were stolen when our car was broken in to. I used to live out of a suitcase, now I'm just living out of a plastic bag - pretty cool, eh?! We really did have quite an adventure, and I'm sure I've missed loads out in these little blogs, but you get a general idea, and will have more when I upload the pictures and videos.
Total distance driven over the last ten days: 4,040 miles (to put that in perspective, if there was a bridge across the atlantic, we could have easily reached Austin in America).
Countries visited: England, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands.
I'm thinking of keeping this blog going to talk about all the things going on with The Foxes, our new manager, recording the debut album, touring etc....what do you think? Oh, and I think it'll need a new name too - can you suggest one? (be nice now...)
Thank you for reading, and for all your kind messages, either here or on Facebook, which really meant a lot when we were on the road. Thanks to Jonno too, for being a great travel companion.
They say travel changes you, and I think this is true. I feel good....better. In the words of Anne Frank, "I know what I want, I have a goal. I have opinons, religion and love."
I'll leave you with video of "Get Me" recorded next to a huge and beautiful lake in Sweden. The acoustic recording is here on my myspace.
Much love,
Nigel.
P.S. If you're close to the Isle of Wight, I'm playing a solo acoustic gig there on Sunday - details here. Blog will follow...
Sadly, we could only stay a few hours in Stockholm due to the need to drive an epic distance to Hamburg, so we left the same night and drove for a few hours before stopping off. Cleverly saving money, we decided to sleep in the car that night. When I woke up at 4am, the temperature had fallen to 1 degree above freezing...the inside of our car was literally colder than a fridge!
Hitting the road early it didn´t take us too long to defrost, and we were in the car for a mere nine and a half hours to reach Hamburg. There was only a brief period of road madness, with us both screaming, but a quick stop off for ice-cream restored sanity. By the way, the bridge to cross over from Sweden to Denmark, and and another in Denmark (there's no other option!) are REALLY expensive...around thirty of your earth pounds....each. We've now driven over three thousand four hundred miles since last Monday.
Anyway, the last time we were in Hamburg was last year when The Foxes played at the Indra Club, so it felt surprisingly familiar. Once again, we stayed with our friend Christina who also suggested a venue we could play at called "Freundlich & Kompetent" (Friendly and Competent), which is run by students, and is really quite a funky and relaxed place. It's about time we had a bit of luck, and we walked in JUST as another band from the U.S. who were due to play there pulled out. So we did a quick soundcheck and after that were asked to headline! Not bad for a totally random gig quest. It went really well, and after a couple of encores (the German audience were lovely) it was time to sample some items from the bar. Thanks to the staff there for taking a chance on us and letting us play, to "Autumn Fall" and especially Christina who suggested we ask there and let us stay in her new flat.
We're just off to have some lunch before heading off to Amsterdam, we'll be staying with my old school friend Rich who lives in the centre of "the red light district", whatever that is :-) Expect an interesting blog tomorrow....
After getting a good 3 hours sleep (due to watching a fantastic film with called "Zombie Strippers") and driving over 300 miles, we've arrived in Paris which is, according to Alan Partridge is "a city of French people..." and he's right but they're all rather good looking and surprisingly friendly!
The photos here are of the white cliffs of Dover (obviously) and the Eiffel Tower which we're just about to go up. Apparently, it was only meant to be temporary, and many Parisians thought it was an eyesore when it was first built. At the moment, Jonno and I are sitting drinking £7 beers in a French wine bar on Rue De Grenelle....tried speaking French, but was spoken back to in English - didn't complain.
The drive here was not bad at all - I'm very impressed with how the French don't sit in the middle lane of the motorway, and how speed limits here are basically 80mph. Just trying not to think of the fact that the toll road cost £20 to get to Paris from Calais....
Well, we're off to go up a big climbing frame, and enjoy some of the Parisian night life. Tomorrow: Nuremberg, Germany.
I'll leave you with a video Jonno filmed of my doing the most romantic song I've ever written, in the most romantic city in the world.....
