Looking back on the Festival gigs:
I didn't expect to be doing any. I heard from Fi that Siglo were looking for acoustic bands to play so went along and signed up for a couple of sessions for me and the Wright Brothers. Then the Festival of Spirituality and Peace invited me to do a couple of nights of WaveForms. Finally, out of the blue, Pivo phoned to say they'd got my name from Siglo and would I like to do a couple of nights? So suddenly there was a calendar. None of it was paid, but I'll do WaveForms anywhere anytime for no money, and I thought the Pivo and Siglo gigs might draw in passing Festivalgoers and help me find a wider audience. I didn't want to do the gigs alone so I asked Mary, who was eager to join in. I was sharing most of the evenings with Fi, for whom I was playing bass, so she offered to do harmonies and hit little wooden things. So the Norman Lamont Festival Ensemble was born for its short life.
The Siglo nights didn't really work; not at all the fault of the people putting it on, but the audience weren't really there for acoustic stuff they'd never heard before. Pivo, being smaller, worked better. The first night was a small gathering of friends, the second night more of a music community, with Townhouse and Confushian. The atmosphere both nights was great, and brought out the best performances we could provide. The horde of Festivalgoers didn't materialise, but I did find some new listeners and sold a few CDs, I also came away from the second Pivo gig with a vast number of photographs, in a small number of which I look almost acceptable. A heavily censored selection will appear online soon. The first WaveForms gig was recorded and I'm waiting to receive a copy. If it's as good as I thought on the night it'll be here for download soon. Finally, what I took away from all the gigs, and Pivo in particular, is how fortunate I am to be part of a scene of talented, diverse, intelligent and friendly musicians. All in all, a good month.
What's next? I've commitments to recording the Wright Brothers and Ms Fi, including production of two of her songs, by the end of the year. There's a chance – just a chance – that Bespoke will take to the stage in October. I have some songs to finish writing and I'm keen to start some recording, the counterbalance to the joy of 'in the moment' performance is the pleasure of polishing, tweaking and experimenting in the digital realm. I have an idea of the kind of band I'd like to throw behind my songs onstage next year, but I don't know if I'll have the time or the people. That remains to be seen and will take a bit of planning.
So thanks again to everyone who helped me get the songs out in August or came along and cheered. You know who you are. It only encourages me, you know!