I remember the moment clearly. The Sun was shining, there was blue skies all around, and it was such a glorious early autumn day. Hyde Park in London, which lies adjacent to my hotel was ablaze with dying leaves in all colour of gold and...
Within hours of the last notes ringing out at the ABC in Glasgow both Charlie and myself had boarded a flight to Los Angeles where we will spend the next couple of weeks with Bob Clearmountain as he sets about mixing the songs that we...
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment Grasshopper" Wise words undoubtedly that might be easy for a philosopher to say, but a spare a thought for us musicians when we walk on stage in...
Time and time again the word enthusiasm has been used to describe our approach to our music and our performances. It has been bandied about again recently as reviewers at the Proms concerts try to get to grips with exactly what it is that both lies...
The year may be drawing to a close and I might have thought that I had heard what for me would have been my favourite album of the year when back in May I heard the charming debut from MGMT. But no! As it happens I...
Maybe it was the Halloween effect. Certainly something out of the norm was happening when we stood on stage in front of 14,000 people, and after only two minutes into our opening song 'Sanctify Yourself', the entire PA system went down. Leaving us frantically belting out...
The US elections are almost on us and of course I am as keen as anyone to know who will get through the doors of the Whitehouse. Like many others I chuckled at the recent Saturday Night Live sketch that had ‘Bill Clinton’ singing ‘Don’t You...
"We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thaaang!" I am artist. I compose, I sing, I write and someday soon enough I suspect will get round to painting, playing both harp and the Swiss style accordion. I already speak Italian and I am learning Spanish. Americ needs to...
Is it ever appropriate for us to feel good on receiving news of a death! I cannot answer that; life is a precious thing after all. But it is certainly more than understandable in the case of victims of oppression and particularly those poor souls who under...
Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element, catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure.’ Least according to Wikipedia it does and considering that accurate and yet glib definition, how straightforward then it all seems should you try and create some...
It wont be the last time that something I write appears spewed up and screwed up elsewhere, and so badly so that it barely resembles the sentiment of my original. What a giggle! It occurred recently with regards to the piece I had written earlier this...
It may well come as no surprise to many who know me to find out that my first boyhood hero was not a rock and roller as such but a quite brilliant Celtic and Scotland football player. His name is Joe Mc Bride, and I can...
