And the Final UK 2012 Photo Album!

Hi everyone!

For your viewing entertainment, here’s the 7^th and FINAL photo album from the UK Tour 2012!

This album covers the final week of the tour… an action packed week it was.

Thanks again to Ned for having me along for the adventure to play music and see just a wee bit of a really fine place known as Britain.

To begin viewing – CLICK THIS LINK

Cheers! ~ Todd

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Because Google+ / Picasa DOESN’T make viewing options intuitive, here’s HOW TO VIEW:

OPTION 1 - To view as a slideshow without captions – click on the slideshow button on the right side of the page.

OPTION 2 - To view WITH captions – click on the first photo on the page (the one of downtown London) and then use the > button on the right side of the screen to advance from photo to photo. Captions are located at the upper right of each image.

And a Few More Photos!

Hello out there!

OK... this is the 6th UK Tour 2012 Photo Album!

IN THIS ALBUM are photos from our London, Norwich and New Romney gigs as well as sightseeing along the way including the White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury.

There's just one more photo album to go (I promise) and it will be pubished by the end of the month (I promise).

To begin viewing CLICK HERE

Cheers! ~ Todd

Because Google+ / Picasa DOESN’T make viewing options intuitive, here’s HOW TO VIEW:

OPTION 1 - To view as a slideshow without captions – click on the slideshow button on the right side of the page.

OPTION 2 - To view WITH captions – click on the first photo on the page (the one of the popcorn lady) and then use the > button on the FAR right side of the screen to advance from photo to photo. Captions are located at the upper right of each image.

MORE PHOTOS from the 2012 UK TOUR!

I’ve been home for two weeks - and it feels great - but the UK 2012 Tour lives on in images! … with even more to come!
This album, along with the first four, brings you along the tour through July 28.

Because Google+ / Picasa DOESN’T make viewing options intuitive, here’s HOW TO VIEW:

OPTION 1 - To view as a slideshow without captions – click on the slideshow button on the right side of the page.

OPTION 2 - To view WITH captions – click on the first photo on the page (the one of downtown London) and then use the > button on the right side of the screen to advance from photo to photo. Captions are located at the upper right of each image.

To begin viewing CLICK HERE

Cheers! ~ Todd

 

It’s a Wrap! And shi’...

Oh Cornwall! I hardly got to know ye!

Ned and I trained it from London’s Paddington Station to St. Austell in Cornwall on England’s Southwest peninsula this past Wednesday in beautiful summer weather. We settled in, jammed with other passengers and baggage, for the relatively long three hour trip. Ned was working new songs, I was working photos and neither of us was paying much attention to announcements made along the way. Thus, we were caught a bit off guard when we heard the kind voice over the intercom say the next station was St. Austell as the train rolled to a stop. Damn! Quick! Shut down the laptops! Grab all the stuff! Whew, we made it!

Standing outside the train I looked down. “Ned, that’s not your suitcase!” In our rush to get off the train Ned grabbed a gray suitcase from the jumble of bags he thought was mine and said “Got your bag,” and logically assumed I would grab his. But I thought he said, “Get your bag,” which I did and assumed he had his. Feet from the train car, we made a mad dash to open the door, get the wrong bag back on the train and grab Ned’s bag. We made it with seconds to spare; we can only imagine how the rest of our day would have unfolded had we not.

With disaster averted, we hopped in a cab and made the short ride to Radio St. Austell Bay for a live interview and performance with host Sheila Vanloo. It went fine and, unlike last week’s interview in Norwich, Sheila had nearly as many questions for me as she did for Ned. It was fun. For color and street cred, I ended all of my responses with "…., and shi'" (see end note of this blog for further explaination of "and shi'"). It went like this: “Todd, do you have family back home?” “Yes I do! My wife, Natalie, is home in Boise, Idaho, and my son, Simon, is a student at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, and shi’.”

Done for the day, we went on to the Sedgemoor Heights Bed & Breakfast. It wasn’t far from the radio station. Actually, in St. Austell nothing is far from anything else. It just seems that way because there are no straight roads and everything’s uphill. At the B&B we met our host, Ray Worman. As Ray showed us around his home, we learned he had a great interest in music, quite a collection of vinyl records and a super stereo system to boot! We were going to get along nicely. Completing our check in, I asked Ray, “What time is breakfast?” “Half past eight,” he replied. “Until what time?” I asked. “Half past eight,” he replied. That was settled. Breakfast is at half past eight.

Thursday was open, so off we went via bus to Mevagissey. Just seven miles away and on the Cornish coast, Mevagissey is small port village populated by tourists and tourist shops as well as fisherpeople and fishing boats. It was a nice place to spend part of a perfect summer day. The remainder of the day was spent napping back at the B&B followed by eating at the Hop & Vine Pub. Did I mention they sell beer there? They do!



It's the Full English at Ray's B&B... at half past eight!



Mevagissey on the Cornish coast.

 

Before moving on, I want to address something we found disturbing while watching the Olympics at the B&B—Horse dancing as an Olympic sport. We don’t know its official “game name”—probably “Equestrian Precision Movement to Marching Music”—but it’s really horse dancing. The horse does appear to get quite a workout, but the rider, who’s all decked out, does not demonstrate great athletic prowess. It’s like going to a really boring rodeo. If dancing horses, why not dancing poodles?

Friday morning and we were off to Truro, about 15 miles further inland for our live interview and performance on BBC Radio Cornwall with host David White. For some reason, Ned did not allow me to speak on air and shi’.

Back in St. Austell we headed to the Eden Project Cafe for the evening’s performance. The cafe is associated with the Eden Project—a widely acclaimed conservation project in creating large domed “biomes”—a few miles outside the town. Our performance to an attentive audience went really well and was a great way to end the tour. Ray was there to see the show and helped us lug our bags back to the B&B at midnight. But the evening wasn’t quite over. Ray, Ned and I sat in his home’s courtyard and enjoyed chatting over a pint until 1:00 a.m.





Our B&B host, Ray Worman, and Ned showing rock fingers as we depart Ray's place in St. Austell. Note Blue, Ray's dog in the background. Funny dog to play catch with!

As I write this final blog of the tour, I’m on the train to London. Tomorrow this time, assuming the airport Gods are feeling content with themselves, I’ll be on my flight home. This tour is a wrap. It’s been a long one, but I’ve seen a lot, played a lot and met great people. And it’s the people I didn’t expect to meet, but did, that leave the greatest lasting impression. People like Joe, the owner of F. Cooke’s Pie and Mash Shop in Hoxton, or Ray at his B&B in St. Austell, or, yes, even Geoff, the angry London cabbie. You just can’t predict the appearances of people like these.

Special thanks to Sandra for taking such good care of me all along the way. And, of course, thanks to Ned for having me along and to Malcolm for being a great tour mate. Whether as a duo or trio, we made music happen. And a big “see you again soon” to Janet, Erika, Roger, Carol, Chris, Marianne, Sue and other friends over here I’m doubtless forgetting.

Finally, HUGE thanks to Natalie for encouraging me to do the tour and for holding down fort back home at the height of summer’s heat. There’s a cool mountain lake in northwest Montana waiting for us, Natalie!... and shi’.

Until next time, from me and 900,000 of my closest tourist friends who will converge on Heathrow tomorrow morning…

Ciao! ~ Todd

P.S., More photos will be posted via mini-blog entries over the next few weeks as the remaining series of images are processed.

END NOTE: Malcolm turned us on to the phrase during the tour; it became a favorite refrain. Street language drops the "t"...

From the Urban Dictionary - "And shit."..

	Something you say at the end of your sentence for a varity of reasons. Being too lazy to finish your sentence and not having an actual verb in your sentence are common causes to throw in "and shit." Also used to make things that aren't really as interesting as you had thought in your head seem cooler.   "yo bobby's over we're playin video games and shit" "yeah then we played. . .and shit."

UK Tour 2012 - Photo Album #4 For Your Viewing

Photo Album 4 is available for viewing!

The album, along with the first three, brings you along the tour through July 24.

To begin viewing, CLICK HERE

I hope you enjoy the photos... more are coming!

~ Todd

Sightseeing-Gigs-More Sightseeing! It’s an Olympic Tri-Blog-a-Thon!

Time’s passing by on our 2012 UK Tour and I realized there were a few items on my London tick list remaining to be tended to between performances and the tour’s end.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Thursday late afternoon and off we went for traditional English cuisine at F. Cooke’s Pie and Mash, a place I’d learned about watching Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel. The restaurant is located in the working-class London neighborhood of Hoxton and is unassuming; brightly lit by sunlight with simple tables, chairs, sawdust sprinkled on the floor and an elderly woman working the counter. The meat pie was covered in a green parsley liquor, or gravy, and the mash was… of course… mashed potatoes. Nothing really too bizarre about all of that although I admit we skipped the other specialty of the house—the pickled eel. As we were finishing up, the shop’s owner, Joe, came out from the kitchen and asked, “Are you the Americans?” We replied, “Why yes, we are!” Joe proceeded to engage us in a fine conversation about food, the superior quality of French cheeses and his travels abroad. While the pie and mash was nothing to write home about, although that’s exactly what I’ve just done, our time talking with Joe certainly was.



Moi, Joe (holding a copy of Ned's CD) and Ned outside the F. Cooke's Pie and Mash - Hoxton, London.

On our way back to the flat we hopped off the bus to have a pint at the Eagle Pub. I didn’t need much encouragement to have a pint, but having one at the Eagle was a cultural experience because it’s famously mentioned in the nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel… “Up and down the City road, in and out The Eagle. That's the way the money goes. Pop goes the weasel.”

Pop Goes the Weasel at the Eagle Pub!

The next day Ned and I were on the train, this time to Norwich to play at the Chapel Arts Centre. Ned’s friend, Erika met us at the station and drove us to her home where she entertained us with a nice cup of tea during which she admitted she had borrowed her son’s car to pick us up. She hadn’t driven in years and actually spent time the day before brushing up on her driving skills. Honestly, we wouldn’t have known the difference; driving on the wrong side of the road scares us in general. Tea time over, Erika drove us to the BBC Norwich radio station for our live interview and performance. The 20 minute session consisted of light banter between Ned and Steve, the program host, as well as performing two songs. I think Ned would have let me speak on air but was fearful I might start talking like a London cabbie suffering from Tourette's syndrome. It was probably a wise move on his part.

Malcolm joined us for the performance at the Chapel Arts Centre where we appreciated playing for a “listening” audience as opposed to a “Give me another pint!” audience. After the show, as well as the next morning, Erika was kind enough to show us a bit more of Norwich. Like so many English towns, Norwich is steeped in history and deserves more time than our schedule allowed. Still, it was fun to see a bit of it. Thanks Erika!

Live on-air performance at BBC Radio Norwich!

Well, back to London for a night and then off Saturday morning for our performance at the Seahorse Pub in New Romney, Kent. As you might suspect from the pub’s name, New Romney is on the coast. It’s at the very southeast tip of England. And, unlike most of our destinations in the UK, is not served well by train. Sandra made quick work of the drive in the rental car, adeptly avoiding London’s Olympic Games traffic and negotiating the narrow country roads.

After checking in at the fine Captain Howey Hotel, I made the short walk to the beach and discovered an interesting event taking place: A carnival complete with machines that spin you around until you want to puke and candy and pop to ensure a productive and colorful puking episode. The odd thing was it was SO American; the rock music blaring and the painted images on the puke-inducing machines. The only thing they got wrong were the people working the carnival. They were much too clean and well kept to be authentic carnies. It just goes to show there’s always room for improvement!

The night’s gig at the Seahorse pub went really well. It wasn’t a large audience, but our friends Roger and Carol Humphries, Chris Shilling, and Marianne Baker and her parents were in the house. We played as a duo and enjoyed one of the highlight performances of the tour. After the show we chatted with the audience and, before saying goodbye, our host and pub’s owner, Sheena, opened up the kitchen and served us a midnight dinner. It was a night to remember.

Nothing British about this rodeo carnival ride!

Sunday was a day of sightseeing on the way back to London. First up? The White Cliffs of Dover! They are quite white and aptly named. We hiked most of the trail along the top and stopped often for photo opportunities. At one point I found myself laying on the ground and leaning a wee bit over the cliff top to take a picture. As I stretched my arms out, I reflected upon two things: (1) I am not familiar with the geologic stability of the top of chalk cliffs and (2) back home, the National Park Service would have similar cliffs fenced off and marked with signage reminding visitors that falling off a cliff is often harmful. I carefully nudged away from my cliff side perch… but I got the shot!

Leaning out to get the shot at the Cliffs of Dover.

Having survived the Cliffs of Dover, we made a quick “look-n-shoot” at Dover Castle and then drove inland to Canterbury. There, Marianne and her mum, Sue, joined us for a walkabout of the walled city (their home town), its cathedral, and then off to enjoy Pimm's No.1 and lemonade accompanied by meaty things dipped in batter and deep fat fried at an outdoor café. It was a perfect way for us and our 20,000 best tourist friends to cap the day! Thanks go to Marianne and Sue!

It's Dover Castle seen through the entry archway.

In Canterbury Cathedral.

Back in London, Ned and I had two days off and it was time to work that London tick list again.

First on tap was taking the bus to Abbey Road, famous for its recording studio, Abbey Road Studios, and the “Zebra Crosswalk” on which the Beatles were photographed for the cover of their album, Abbey Road, on August 8, 1969. You really can’t miss the crosswalk because it’s the one with a couple dozen people hanging around at any given time of day waiting for traffic to clear so they can pose for pictures imitating the album cover. Here’s how it works: When there’s a break in traffic, subject and photographer simultaneously walk into the middle of the street and take the photos. One funny thing was watching people “pose” as if they’re walking rather than just walking. Try it and you’ll see how hard it is to convincingly pose a walking motion.

Back to our photo shoot, Ned and I quickly joined the fray and made several passes across the road while snapping shots in rapid succession and keeping an eye on traffic. We don’t know if people have been injured in pursuit of the snapshot, but it’s highly likely as the crosswalk is not controlled by stop lights. While we were there, one London bus driver just laid on the horn as he approached and passed through the crosswalk. He wasn’t stopping for anyone, tourist or resident.

Just a few steps down the street are the studios protected by a short white wall and iron fence. The wall is covered entirely by graffiti. Thus, you can leave you own note for the Fab Four, living or dead. But, if you want your note to last, you’ll have to make repeat visits because the local council paints over the graffiti every three months!

Ned on the Zebra Crosswalk on Abbey Road!

Moi on the Zebra Crosswalk on Abbey Road!

Before ending our day, we stopped by Camden Market for a look around and a late lunch. The market is a hip spot stuffed with shops of all kinds, street food from across the globe and the occasional sign suggesting pickpockets make their living at the market.

At Camden Market you can find almost anything... like getting a tattoo and later having it removed!

Today Ned and I were up and ready to tackle the last item on the London tick list—to see an event at the 2012 London Games! Our event of choice was the Men’s Triathlon taking place in and around Hyde Park. Being a free event, 500,000 of our closest tourist friends tagged along. The Piccadilly Line was jammed packed. While standing in the humid, stuffy subway car, the thought crossed my mind that airlines ought to study this method of maximizing passengers per square foot. Out of the Tube and a quick walk to the park, we arrived in time to see the competitors complete the last four laps of the bike race. Those guys were cookin’! Viewing the running portion of the event was impossible, so we wandered a bit and stumbled upon a huge viewing area in the middle of the park where we watched Great Britain take the gold on a giant screen. It was a proud moment for our host country and for Ned and me it was very cool to witness the reaction of the crowd.



The head of the bike pack during the Men's Triathlon in and around London's Hyde Park

 

The crowd erupts as Britain's Alistair Brownlee wins Olympic Triathlon gold!

All for now from the Olympic City! One gig to go way over on the southeast coast in the Cornwall area. I’ll have at least one more official blog entry as our 2012 UK Tour wraps up.... and a few more photo albums!

Ciao! ~ Todd

UK Tour 2012 - Photo Album #3 is here!

Please enjoy Photo Album #3 from the UK Tour 2012! Click HERE

This album takes you along our visit to Bath, Liverpool and back into London, ending on July 20th.

As you might suspect... more photos are to come!

Ciao! ~ Todd

An OFFICIAL Blog from the Olympic City

Hello from the Olympic City!

It was back to work for us with a run of four performances to and fro.

But wait!

There was one more event to tend to here in London: Watch the Olympic torch relay! The poor torch has been crisscrossing the UK like a pinball for 68 days, has passed through the hands of 8,000 “runners,” and we weren’t going to let it pass us by. Thursday morning, just around the corner from Sandra’s flat and right on time, a parade of buses preceded the torch. We could tell these were official Olympic buses because they were clearly marked by official sponsor logos and were blaring music approved by an official committee. We were lucky enough to see not just the torch, but witness its transfer from one runner to the next. It was much ado about something and a great way to start the morning. On our way back to the flat, a woman stopped me to ask if I’d gotten photos because she missed it. I had and showed them to her. The can of beer in her hand and her disposition demonstrated clearly why she had missed the torch. She was drunk. It was 8:45 a.m. Well done! A gold medal performance!

It's the OFFICIAL Samsung Olympic Torch Bus!

It's the OFFICIAL Olympic Torch Exchange! Note the security team dressed discretly in running clothes. The photo does not show their in-ear radios.

With our official Olympic duties done for the day, Ned and I headed southwest via train for a return trip to Portsmouth where our first performances took place in June. That seems like a decade ago. We had no travel delays and arrived at the RMA Pub with time to spare.

Now here’s the deal: Sometimes on tour there’s an offer made for free accommodations. It’s always a gamble, but being the road warriors we are, we were game to give them a try. We made the quick walk to the “house” for inspection. There are beds. Check. They have blankets and pillows. Check. The bedroom windows do not open. Check. Permanent residents are one dog and one cat. Check. There’s cat food strewn all over what appears to be the kitchen floor. Check. OK, where’s the bathroom. We can’t find it anywhere. Hmmmm…. During his search for the bathroom, Ned steps in a big pile of dog crap on what appears to be the living room floor. Check. We’re outta here! After a few phone calls, and with the help of Nick, the promoter, we were safely booked at a B&B for the night. Check.

The evening’s gig at the RMA Pub went fine and after our day of travel and accommodation travails we were happy to find a nice Indian restaurant just up the street from the B&B for a late dinner. Yum... madras with lamb.

Friday morning we were up and at it, leaving the B&B and on to the InnLodge for our second night’s accommodation, then off to the downtown area where Ned’s going to do some promotion for the evening’s gig and I’m going to walk to Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard to see the HMS Warrior which I had missed in June.

If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you know that I inflicted harm to my right knee while jogging in London one week into the tour. It HAD been getting better. However, the 3.5 mile roundtrip walk to the port was not a good idea from my knee’s point of view; its been reminding me of this tactical error ever since. On top of that, they don’t sell tickets to see individual attractions at the dockyard. To see the Warrior, I would have had to buy a $30+ pass. Mission not accomplished!

Friday evening at the Old House at Home Pub was fun. We had Adam, a Brit we met the night before, sit in on bass. Adam runs a music program at an American-British school in Oman and was on vacation. He was a trooper and played quite well. The only downside to the evening was that we competed with the spectacle of the official 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony. Many stayed home to watch the event and, I admit, I had a hard time not watching it on the Pub’s big screen while playing.

It's the OFFICIAL Old House at Home Pub Crew - Nick (promoter), Ned, Adam (sitting in on bass) in back and our opening act, King Sized Robots. They were good!

Quick fact before leaving the island city of Portsmouth: You wouldn’t suspect it while being there, but Portsmouth is the second most densely populated area in the UK and thirteenth in Europe!

Saturday morning we made our way back to London’s Victoria Station, met Malcolm and Sandra, and caught the train for the short trip to Kent to play outdoors at the Summer Breeze Groover 2 Festival at the Lower Bell Pub. The weather was perfect! As they say in the UK… “Ah, the English summer! The best day of the year!” And so it was. Though our music was unlike the Top-40 review played by the band preceding us, our friend Roger Humphries gave us a warm introduction. Roger had clout with the audience being a resident of the area and having his own popular country band. We played well and were well received. I still get a kick out of how many people, often musicians, who are amazed at the sounds of the cajon. Well, three gigs down and one to go… and my hands are holding up fine.

It's the OFFICIAL Action Shot from the Summer Breeze Groover 2!

It's the OFFICIAL Olympic Welcoming Crew at London's Victoria Station

Sunday’s London gig at Ain’t Nothin' But Blues Bar is a big one. The venue, located in London’s West End, has a great reputation and wasn’t easy to book because WE are mostly something other than the Blues. Nonetheless, the three of us hit the stage playing for an international audience… people from the UK, Russia, Spain, Hungary, the States, you name it. In fact, a German fellow asked where in the States I was from. I said, “Idaho” and he said, “Oh yes.” Assuming he was thinking of Iowa, I mentioned it was in the West, near Seattle (Seattle’s always a safe conversation reference point for Idaho). He replied, “Yes, I know it. I studied six months at WSU in Pullman, Washington.” Thus, he not only knew where Idaho was, he had been to my home town of Moscow, Idaho, on many occasions. Small world! Back to the gig… we kept the crowd going throughout our two-hour performance. Ned pulled out all the stops to play up-tempo tunes some of which I had never played on cajon; now THAT was interesting! They didn’t let us go until we had given them a proper encore. Mission accomplished!

It's the OFFICIAL Photo at Ain't Nothin' But Blues - Sandra, Ned, Janet (Malcolm's mom) and Malcolm!

There you have it, four performances in four days and my hands are fine. While I fully anticipate the official Olympic drug testing committee will ask I submit to tests, I assure you there was no doping involved or chemicals otherwise applied to my hands. Let’s see the Chinese cajonists do that!

Cheers from a once again cool and rainy London!  But, before I leave…

Happy Birthday to Natalie back home as she celebrates her OFFICIAL “25th” birthday! I wish I could have been there, but her workmates Suki, Bridget and Sheri surprised her at our home this morning with coffee, flowers, a homemade card and a special birthday hat. My love to you, Natalie,... I'll be home soon.

Until next time... an OFFICIAL Ciao! ~ Todd

GEOFF!

Tuesday’s a day of rest after the weekend run of gigs, but Wednesday we’re back at it. This time, Ned and I took the quick train ride to Milton Keynes. Yes, we managed to get on the correct train on the first try thank you very much! At the Milton Keynes station, we were met by Hannah Merrington from RGS Entertainment Group. The day’s task was to perform five of Ned’s tunes at the RGS studio in a live session environment with audio and video rolling. Dom Rampello, owner of RGS greeted us, showed us around, then into the studio we went. We moved through the songs quickly, accomplishing each in one take. There were no over-dubs, additional tracking or correction of minor mistakes. This was the real deal... and it went splendidly. You can view the first video HERE.

Ned warming up at RGS Entertainment Group's studio for the live recording session

Ned and I arrived back at London’s Euston Station late afternoon and caught a cab for the ride back to the flat. I don’t know our cabbie’s name. I’ll call him Geoff. So Geoff seemed a nice enough fellow, probably nearing retirement. We soon learned that Geoff had been waiting in the station’s cab queue for an hour. This did not please Geoff and he found no reason to hold his opinions back. With a liberal sprinkling of the "F" word, Geoff proceeded to tell us just how much the Olympics were interfering with his work. Not knowing if Ned and I truly comprehended the degree of his frustration with lane closures and restrictions throughout the city, Geoff accentuated his locution by dropping the unforgivable "C" word when it was time to place blame on the traffic travails. We learned that “that F…ing C Tony Blair” and “that F…ing C David Cameron” were at the top of his list. We were surprised to learn that “that F…ing C George Bush” AND “that F…ing C Obama” are also to blame… blah, blah, blah… something about the economy. With a few “bollocks” bouncing off Geoff’s tongue to help his discourse along, we arrived at the flat somewhat dazed. We agreed with Geoff on two points: (1) we generally don’t like politicians and (2) it’s a good thing Geoff and the missus are going on holiday during the games.

Thursday and Friday were simple enough… a Thursday walkabout with Malcolm from Islington to his place in Crouch End to pick up a piece of gear (a special shout out to Malcolm’s mum, Janet, for the coffee and cakes!), followed by Friday’s trip to Denmark Street with Ned to stop by the guitar shops promoting our upcoming London show.

Saturday morning and it was back to work. The rental car was packed and we headed southwest to Winchester to play the Winchester Science Festival. As the name indicates, this was not a music festival. Rather, it was a gathering of science types where all sorts of current science-related topics were presented and discussed. Ned had been invited to help with a presentation on the science of music. Before the presentation, I had time to have a walkabout to see the Winchester Cathedral, the longest Gothic cathedral in Europe, along with other historic sights typical of England. Did I mention there were tourists in Winchester?

The “String Theory” presentation with Milton and Bridget Mermikides went over very well and, after a break, Ned and I performed an hour long set as part of the evening’s entertainment.

Ned with Bridget and Milton Mermikides presenting the science of music at the Winchester Science Festival

Packed up, we headed for London. Our navigation device, or “SAT NAV” charted our course and we were trusting in its 21^st Century technology. But here’s the problem: Our SAT NAV had not been reading the London news about Olympic road restrictions nor had it taken time to have a chat with Geoff. In addition, SAT NAV was not aware of what takes place in the SOHO/West End Districts on a Saturday at midnight. Into the fray we went. The first obstacle was bumper to bumper traffic jams due to road crews getting Olympic lanes painted and otherwise marked. That was the first sixty minutes. The final 30 minutes were spent observing thousands of Saturday night revelers pour out of the bars in the SOHO/West End Districts as we putted along at the pace of a very slow turtle. Let’s just say certain parts of downtown London on a Saturday night are something you have to see to believe. At 2:00 a.m. we’re back at the flat.

Five hours later we were up and getting ready for Sunday’s outing to play at the Upton Blues Festival in Upton upon Severn, near the Welsh border. After a quick stop to pick Malcolm up, we headed out of town and arrived by Upton by noon, the car crammed with the four of us and gear. Something odd happened on Sunday. The clouds cleared and summer arrived in Britain; it was perfect. The festival is billed as Britain’s largest free blues festival and is an event that takes over the entire village with bands playing at multiple venues indoors and outside. We had a few hours to take it all in before hitting our set on the outdoor stage at 4:45. I’ve learned something about “blues” festivals – the acts performing don’t necessarily play anything resembling blues… I’m pretty sure country rock is not blues. I’m also fairly certain songs like “White Wedding” are not blues. In any case, people were out enjoying the day.  Our hour-long set went really well in no small way because the stage soundman, Phil, knew what he was doing and gave us a great mix on stage. Ned, Malcolm and I gelled and it was not missed by the crowd of several hundred.



The band ripping it up at the Upton Blues Festival!



Mission accomplished, we departed Upton and took a side road to the small village of Pershore where we landed at the Angel Inn and Posting House for a proper Sunday dinner. The Angel is one of those “off the map” kind of places you read about in travel magazines; one of the pleasant surprises you’re rewarded with for getting off the beaten track. Well, back on the beaten track and our SAT NAV guides us back home without error. What a weekend.

This past Monday afternoon Ned and I took to the streets and visited the South Bank of the River Thames with 15,000 of our closest tourist friends. While crossing Tower Bridge, there was a din of car horns blaring. The London cabbies were protesting the Olympic road restrictions by clogging traffic on the bridge. Just minutes after we crossed one cabbie jumped off the bridge in protest. He’s fine, it’s a relatively short drop to the Thames, but the police were out in force on the bridge and in the air. We’re still trying to find out if the cabbie’s name was Geoff.

Sightseeing’s never complete in London and Tuesday night was a perfect example. Sandra and I started at St. Paul’s Cathedral and made our way across the Millennium Bridge to the South Bank. Though it was the same area Ned and I were at the day prior, it looks quite different at night. All of the bridges and river cruise boats were lit up.

Tonight’s venture included a fine Italian dinner followed by our “flight” on the London Eye, the 443 foot slow-going ferris wheel on the South Bank. It was spectacular! Tomorrow we begin a second run of four gigs in as many nights.

It's finally SUMMER! A fine day of sightseeing with Ned. Observe Tower Bridge with the Olympic Rings!

We and our closest 20,000 tourist friends agree that the 2012 English summer doesn’t suck… unless you’re a London cabbie named Geoff.

Until next time… Cheers! ~ Todd

Hey! How about NEW PHOTOS and a VIDEO from the UK Tour 2012!

Hello from the Olympic City where the weather has become oddly warm and sunny!

Today’s installment is short and to the point…

Click HERE to view the second photo album from the UK Tour 2012. When viewing the photos, depending on how they are displayed in your browser, you may have to click on the "more" link in the upper right to read entire captions... but I think it's often worth the effort :)

Click HERE to view a video of Ned and I performing “Bend Me” recorded live at RGS Entertainment Group’s studio in Milton Keynes last week. Special thanks to Dom Rampello and his crew at RGS for making this happen.

Blog post #5 will be coming soon!

Ciao! ~ Todd

Rolling With Trains

Back in London and it’s time for more sightseeing commencing with an afternoon walkabout at the Victoria and Albert Museum; a vast and eclectic collection of artifacts from across the globe.

The next day Ned and I took the Tube to the Olympic Park. Getting there’s easy enough right now. In two weeks it’s going to be another matter as London is anticipating up to 1 million extra people a day in the city for the games. With economic payback in mind, the Brits have constructed a new shopping mall which we had to navigate to get to park entrance. It turns out you can’t currently enter the park unless you have credentials. Lacking these, the nice security guards invite us to view the outside of the stadium from the top floor of a John Lewis department store. So, we made our way up to the viewing area which is curiously filled with 2012 London Games souvenirs. I did my part to help London pay for the games.



This is as close as you get to the Olympic Stadium right now. View from the John Lewis department store.



We’re not done sightseeing yet! The following day Ned and I took advantage of a break in the weather and boarded a River Thames cruise. We were accompanied by 150 of our closest tourist friends for the leisurely six mile float from city center east to Greenwich. Along the way we passed by the replica of the Globe Theatre, the current London Bridge, The Shard, the HMS Belfast, and Tower Bridge. We also passed by more high-end river view condos than one can shake an umbrella at followed by the massive organized crime district, a.k.a. the new financial district.

Greenwich was a nice break from the hubbub and sirens of London. We made our way to a friendly pub for lunch and then went off to the Royal Naval College and its Painted Hall and Chapel, followed by a look around at the National Maritime Museum. However, we were denied our day’s goal; the Royal Observatory was closed. As you may know, the Observatory is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian Line and thus, the Observatory controls the very fabric of time and the space-time continuum. I don’t know what happens to time when it’s closed. I have to deduce that time simply stops. Oh well… A quick walk by the Cutty Sark and we were on the boat for the cruise back to London in the rain. Our sunny weather break had come to an end, but we made the most of it!



The largest poster in the world, or so we were told, on our River Thames Cruise.



Back to business: It’s time to head west to play gigs at Bath and Liverpool. For no good reason, we stayed up a wee bit late Thursday night and were a wee bit groggy Friday morning. No matter… we can sleep on the train, right? Ned and I boarded the train to Bristol at Waterloo Station, Platform 17, right on time. Our stop at Bath Spa clearly listed on the reader board. As the train rolled away from the platform, the kind voice on the intercom states the train will terminate at Reading, 40 minutes west of London. Hmmm…. That’s not what the reader board indicated. No worries. At Reading, the reader board says the train to Bristol leaves at 10:57 on Platform 7. No worries. At 10:55 we boarded our train. As the train rolled away from the platform, the kind voice on the intercom states the train will terminate at some hamlet down a spur and return to Reading. What the…? We had no choice but to go along for the ride, there and back. Safely back at Reading, we learned that it pays to examine the reader boards more carefully. Just because a train is at the appointed platform two minutes before departure DOES NOT imply it’s your train! No worries. We waited an hour and got on the next train to Bristol. The kind voice in the intercom confirms this. Two minutes into the ride the ticket man stopped by and we handed him our ticket cards. Our tickets are no longer valid. We have two choices: buy relatively expensive tickets on the spot or get off at the next stop and ask to have our tickets revalidated. Off the train we go. Ned pleads our case but to no avail. With new tickets in hand, we boarded the 2:12 train to Bristol and arrive at Bath at 3:30 in pouring rain. We are some savvy travelers, that’s for sure!

The Friday afternoon sky cleared and train travails were forgotten. We checked into our B&B and I ventured off for a walkabout. Bath, cleverly named after its main attraction, ancient Roman Baths, is a perfectly scenic English city of 84,000. While there’s no lack of tourists, tourist shops and restaurants, there’s also no lack of photographic opportunities, especially after a summer rain.

Sandra, who DOES know how to read train station reader boards, successfully arrived from London on time, taking just one train. Saturday the three of us took in the Abbey and the Roman Baths, along with 10,000 of our closest tourist friends, most of whom were Italian teenagers. While waiting in queue to see the Baths, we were surprised to witness a young man wearing a mankini promoting an ice cream shop. We found that odd. It was a fun day.



Mankini Man promoting an ice cream shop in Bath... and in serious need of a tan.



Malcolm, who ALSO knows how to read train station reader boards, arrived from London and the four of us made our way to the Chapel Arts Centre for our gig. It’s a small venue with great acoustics, a great sound system and a competent sound engineer. We got set up, did a sound check and were ready to perform. While the show was lightly attended, we gave it our best and had a great time chatting with many in the audience after the show.

Sunday morning and it’s off to the train station to train it back to London and then immediately board another train to Liverpool. This zigzag doesn’t make intuitive sense as Bath and Liverpool are in the same general region. Ticket pricing logic does not always follow geography. We saved money by taking this odd routing.

We rolled into Liverpool right on time and checked into our Travelodge room, just a short walk from Sunday night’s venue – the Lomax. After a quick set-up I walked a block and stumbled into Beatles Central. You may recall the Fab Four got their start in Liverpool and the city has had a hard day’s night shaking the reputation ever since. Down one street is located Lennon’s Bar, the Rubber Soul Oyster Bar, and the Cavern Club where the Beatles famously performed in 1961. A banner stretching across the street proudly proclaims “Mathew Street – Birthplace of the Beatles!” It’s 6:00 p.m. and the din of multiple rock bands performing permeates the street. The evening’s security guards sporting black attire are already in place.

Back at the Lomax two acoustic acts took the stage before our set. It’s a typically small venue and tonight hosts a good sized crowd. Our performance went really well. Well, up until when the P.A. started popping and cracking like it’s the 4^th of July. We had to end our set a couple tunes short. But a shout came from the crowd, “Play acoustic!” So we moved up to the edge of the stage and perform Robert Johnson’s “If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day.” We won the evening. Click here to see a video of our opening number, “Pure Evil.”



Liverpool's Cavern Club - "Birthplace" of the Beatles.




Playing washboard, shaker and foot tambourine on "Say Goodbye For Both of Us" at the Lomax. Photo by Adrian Wharton.



After a Monday morning walkabout between rain squalls it was time for one more train ride back to London. On board we settled into the Quiet Coach and waited for our 11:46 departure. The kind voice on the intercom states the train will be delayed due to an encounter between a train and an unfortunate human. The train won. As a result, the train lines are in temporary chaos as diversions are made. No worries… it’s understandable. Near the Wimbledon Station our train rolled to a stop. The kind voice on the intercom states the train has lost power. We arrive at London’s Euston Station an hour late. No worries.

But why end the day now? A few hours later Ned, Sandra and I made a five minute walk to the ‘Round Midnight Blues and Jazz Bar where Ned and I performed as a duo for a set. Again, a small venue but it hosted an attentive Monday night crowd.

A midnight Skype session with Natalie caps the day and the weekend. What a nice way to put a period on it. Or an exclamation point!

Until next time… Todd

P.S. – More photos are on the way… I promise!