All Time Records
Just a humble songwriter.
First and foremost, a Tune-smith, I suppose.
Yes, somehow, melodies just pop into my head, from, like, nowhere, man!
Of course, to turn a melody into an actual song, it has to have a set of lyrics - but lyric-writing, for me, is more like "work".
Contrast that with composing a melody - man, its such a buzz when you think you've come up with a half-decent new tune.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
There's no history, as such but, by all means have a listen to The Ballad of Jed & Elly.
The first tune that simply "popped into my head" has never been demo'ed but the second one certainly has. I was about 11 or 12 at the time and I just started humming a simple little melody. I finally knocked out a set of lyrics for that second tune some 30 yrs later - and that's how Jed & Elly came into being.
Maybe, one day, it will be history - but, as an 11 yr old simply humming a tune in the shower, it certainly didn't seem like history at the time!
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
I can't sing to save my life - good job I was able to get the excellent Tammy Roylance to lay down all the vocals!
Your musical influences
Um, what I write isn't neccesarily the same thing as I would listen to.
I read a poll the other day - hundreds of musicians etc were asked to name the greatest living songwriters. Dylan, of course, came out on top, Neil Young was second and Bruce Springsteen was third.
Maybe Leonard Cohen should've just edged it with Bruce but, yes, I guess I've always been influenced by singer/songwriters where its ultimately the raw quality of the song that counts.
The last few years I've really gotten into people like Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Mary Gauthier. And have you heared the debut album by Ray Lamontagne? Best male vocal I've ever heard!
What equipment do you use?
Strange that someone who can't play guitar properly has a genuine Gibson Les Paul. They're really heavy aren't they? Good job mine came with a wide shoulder strap!
Oh yes, still got my original Yamaha keyboard too. Can't play that particularly well, either!
Anything else?
Special thanks for the making of the album must go to Bob Pierce at The Bunker studio in Bristol and, of course, to Tammy Roylance for such an ace job on the vocals.
