Lordy...

There is nothing at all right with this advert. Though it's strangely compelling to watch.



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One of The Willing...

Gin, gin, it's good for your heart. Well, it probably isn't, but quite frankly, I don't care. It's working for me right now.

So - to business. The image above is of Ian Wills' new album, or rather Wills and the Willing as they are known.

It's a fantastic record, some great songs and rather splendid production too, courtesy of Captain Sean 'knob-Topol' Genockey. I'm not quite sure when it's due for release, but I think it's soon. Immininet even.

The twenty-two handsome cover stars feature Mr. Wills, his band and premier league footballers Didier Drogba and Michael Essien. I'm not quite sure who they are. They may play for England, they may not. I went to a party at Chinawhite following the launch of Ian's single 'Skin'. Apparently there were numerous famous footballers there, though I hadn't a clue. I was more concerned about the price of the cocktails - thirty quid a pop! Naively, I offered to buy a round of drinks, then nearly collapsed when presented with a three figure bar bill.

The other hunks on the album cover are The Willing. These are people who contributed to the making of this record, either through studio wizzardry or by performing on tracks. I fall into the latter catagory, and consequently am one of the faces on the album cover. So are Messieurs John Hogg and Harry Collier.

Click on the picture to enlarge. Can you find us...?


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Christmas message...

Ding dong merrily on high
For Harry C is singing
Alex, John, Martin and Dan
Are twanging, banging, plinking

Here's a sneaky peek into some of the new material, as well as an insight into how musician's communicate with each other during rehearsals.

Happy Christmas - looking forward to seeing you at a venue somewhere in 2009!



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Stop Press!

New blog with Christmas message and snippets of music of the new band will be arriving tomorrow. But in the meantime, I'm off across a frosty London for a Christmas feast.

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The 12-step guide to making an album...

Hello you beauties.

Lots going on at the moment, some good, some bad. Despite this, as the band continues to come together, I continue to film the process. I'm currently working on the next blog update, so keep checking back and I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I've found my VHS tapes of Moke recording Carnival at Rockfield Studios in Wales. I thought I'd lost the tapes, so am delighted to be able to finally share a few moments with you. The album sessions began in Los Angeles, but we didn't like it there, so decamped to sunny Wales. It was also about as far away from our record company as we could get. We stayed two weeks, I only wish it could have been more.

Rockfield is where many, many great albums have been made. For example, the piano in the clip really is the one used on Bohemian Rhapsody. Pretty cool, eh...? Add to that a fabulous collection of mics and outboard gear, great sounding rooms and best of all...total seclusion!

Next to the studio is a house, each one of us had our own rooms, with en suites (complete with whirlpool bath, no less). Every evening you'd write on the blackboard by the kitchen what time you'd like to be woken in the morning, as well as what you'd like for breakfast. And at around 5pm each day, a cordon-bleu chef would arrive and cook you a three-course meal for dinner!

After Rockfield, we went to London and spent several further months recording before finally heading back to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks where the album was mixed.

Below is advice on how to make a record...


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Rehearsal No.4...

Feckin' Nora!

Rehearsal No. 4 took place last night and another song was added to the pot. Harry’s written some corking tunes – we’re all very excited! Everyone’s getting on top of the harmonies, as well as the instrumental parts that change subtly from verse to chorus. These subtle shifts mean learning the songs is a right old mental workout. If you’re not concentrating it’s easy to lose track of where you are. Good thing that we’re all such pros then. Er…

I’ve been filming select bits as we go along. I’d love to show you some of the music, but at this stage I can’t. Anyway you’ll just have to come and see it for yourself. Things are shaping up - gigs to follow soon.

Instead, here’s a short film about everything else that takes place when rehearsing. It packs sizzling facts, wise advice, poetry, epic voyages, hilarious jokes and lions, yes lions, into just two minutes! Spielberg and Tarantino are shitting themselves.

Rehearsals can be dull affairs, but not with this band.




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Homebrew...

Strewth!

Johnmoke's Mum makes her own wine. She distributes it to her son in a petorl can, which makes you feel really naughty each time you go for a top up. Or should that be stop to refuel? Anyway, you could almost certainly power a small vehicle with it.

The wine was consumed whilst we rehearsed with our new supergroup. I'm very excited about this project, which will be coming to a venue near you soon. The music is written by Harry Collier - amazing songs played by a fantastic group of musicians.

It's the best band I've ever been in.

To celebrate this, we drank the wine. All of it.

And then didn't play so well.


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p.s - new Moke clip below. Thanks Heylad, whoever you are!