I LOVE a bit of heat! Yes, there is a double meaning to that. 😉
Let’s get the weather out of the way. This week has been toasty, even when it’s been raining. Since we bought an air conditioning unit a few years ago, this is not a problem when it comes to a good night’s sleep. As for the daytime, bring on the heat! The car is air conditioned, too. Shades on, visor down. When not working, I’ve actually been able to sit in the garden. Sometimes with a beer.
World On Fire album artwork. Bonkers.
So, the other kind of hotness…my fave rock musicians Slash, Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators have just released their new single ‘World On Fire’. It’s AWESOME! Link is below. Rock fans – give it a listen. Amazing guitar from Slash (duh) and fantastic vocals from Mr Kennedy and his back up singer (and bassist) Todd ‘Dammit’ Kerns. So much talent in this band. No video as yet, but I’m sure there’ll be one soon. In the meantime, feast your ears!
I can’t wait until the full album comes out in September. I also can’t wait to hear this high energy track live. Unfortunately, this won’t happen until December. Oh well, it’ll heat up the chilly Scottish winter.
(Warning to sensitive people: there is a pretty obvious swear towards the end. I love it when Mr Kennedy swears – he’s the nice boy of rock ‘n’ roll, so it always gives me a thrill when he’s bad. And it fits the song. So there.)
Todd, Myles, Slash and Brent. Too much talent and hotness in one band.
Also on the subject of hotness: checking my stats for the last week, you know what people have been searching for? Sexy poems. Well well. As it happens, I have a few of those on here, and some more waiting to be added. Must be something in the air… 😉
If this blog post is full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, blame the Guinness. I’m writing this after a couple of pints of the lovely stuff.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As a fellow Celt, I love the Irish and their beautiful country. I have visited the Emerald Isle, but not nearly enough – must go back soon.
A much younger me on the top floor of The Guinness Storehouse, Dublin
I’m actually typing this the day before, but we’ve had an early celebration in our house, as hubby is working all of St. Paddy’s Day itself. Hence the reason I’ve had some Guinness. I love Guinness – I’m not just drinking it for St. Paddy’s. It’s been my pint of choice since my University days. I used to be able to get through a lot more of it, but never mind… 😉
Great music and musicians of all sorts have come out of Ireland. One of the things I enjoyed when I visited was just wandering into a pub, and finding people playing and singing. Some of you may know that I love folk music as well as being a rock chick. So we’re having a traditional Irish number today (although I first heard this performed by a Scottish singer. Hello, Steve Eaglesham). ‘Star of the County Down’ is an old Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down, in Northern Ireland. The words are by Cathal McGarvey (1866–1927) from Ramelton, County Donegal. This song has been widely performed and recorded, but I’ve gone for the version by Van Morrison and The Chieftains.
When I visited Dublin, many years ago, one of the singers in the Temple Bar area asked for requests, so I chose this – and got complimented on my smile by a smooth-talking Irish musician. He was lucky I was still standing, never mind smiling, as I’d had about eight pints of Guinness by then. I’d be in hospital if I had that many now. Ah, the foolishness of youth…
The video is a leetle cheesy (apologies to its maker), but has some good pics from the Emerald Isle. Sláinte! 🙂
The crazy cat lady has taken time off from kitties recently, to write about dogs (cue hissing and spitting from the resident felines). Well, wolves – okay, werewolves, to be precise. And guess what? I’ve got a Music Monday song on werewolves here, too!
Some of you know that the wonderful Mari Wells hosted a month of all things werewolf in February, to celebrate the festival of Lupercalia. She was kind enough to feature a story of mine called The Change. This was originally written for an Open University Creative Writing course assessment. I got a pretty good mark for it, but one thing my tutor asked was ‘What happened next?’ I split the original story into two parts, and have answered my tutor’s question by writing a third part. I’m editing that at the moment, and it should appear on here soon.
Follow the links to read The Change (Part 1) and The Change (Part 2), if you want to. 🙂
The Change is sort of a prequel to More, a serial I started a while back. It wasn’t the story I intended to write for my coursework. There’s a young man who features in the More story, and I was going to write about him. My lead character had other ideas! Anyway, More, and my werewolves, will be an ongoing thing. My head is full of ideas for future stories – must get writing!
So…big howls of love to Mari Wells for featuring me during Werewolf Month. Here’s a mad song to say thank you. I’ve gone for an unofficial video, as it has lots of cool werewolf artwork. Some of the pics are not the best quality, but they give an idea of the different portrayals of werewolves. Yes, it’s Warren Zevon, with ‘Werewolves Of London’. (Rock fact: Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac play drums and bass on this track).
Our Christmas decorations are up! Hubby must put them up on 1st December. He can’t wait any longer. He’s a big kid really!
He decorates the outside of the house, while I do the tree and the indoor decorations. We have a real tree for the first time in years. It’s huge! It does look lovely though.
My lovely hubby, and my lovely Christmas tree! Hubby is six feet tall, so you get an idea of the tree size…
I also have cinammon-scented pine cones. I’ve been seeing them in the garden centre every Christmas for ages and saying ‘I must get some of those’. Finally, I got some – and between them and the piney scent of the tree, the whole house smells gorgeous.
I know some of you will be saying ‘Bah Humbug! How can you be doing Christmas things already?’ Truth is, I love it. I’ve always loved Christmas, but sadly in the household I grew up in it wasn’t a happy occasion. I’m not going to go into why in this post. Maybe I’ll explain some other time. But I always wanted Christmas to be magical (probably through reading too many books where it was), and ever since I left my childhood home, and especially since being with hubby, I’ve endeavoured to make it that way.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that there’s far too much consumerism and that the goodwill often gets lost. I try not to lose sight of the fact that it’s about love, not how big a tree you have or how many presents you’ve got. (Says the person with the ridiculously big tree). I know Christmas is a difficult time for many. Anyway, that leads me on to…
…Christmas songs. I love them too. The carols, the cheery ones, and of course the cynical ones… My Music Monday choice this week definitely falls into the latter category. Frequently voted the best Christmas song ever, Fairytale of New York, performed by the unlikely pairing of The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, was first released in November 1987. It has been re-released several times since, and re-enters the charts every Christmas.
The song tells an Irish immigrant’s story about Christmases past while sleeping off a binge in a New York City drunk tank. It becomes a back-and-forth between the male and female characters of the story, their youthful hopes crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction, as they reminisce and bicker on Christmas Eve.
Kirsty MacColl’s melodious singing contrasts with the harshness of Shane MacGowan’s voice, and the lyrics are sometimes bittersweet — sometimes purely bitter: ‘Happy Christmas your arse/I pray God it’s our last’. The title, taken from author J.P. Donleavy’s novel A Fairy Tale of New York, was chosen after the song had been written and recorded.
Since Kirsty MacColl’s untimely death in 2000, the song has become even more poignant. It’s been a favourite of mine ever since it was first released. During my University years, a friend and I used to give a rendition of it at pub sing-songs. Not sure how well we did it, but it always went down a treat (possibly because our audience was inebriated). 😉
Here’s Fairytale of New York and the wonderful video that accompanies it. (Look out for an appearance by actor Matt Dillon, as the cop).
You know those songs that give you goosebumps? For me, Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty is one of those. I can’t remember when I first heard it. It seems as though I’ve been hearing it forever, which is actually kind of true, as it was released when I was 7 years old. I think it made a proper impression on me when I heard it used in a play on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, when I was 18. The melancholy melody and that soaring saxophone still send shivers down my spine every time I hear it.
Pic courtesy of photographersdirect.com
So why did I pick this song for Music Monday this week? Because I was thinking about Glasgow, and musicians. (Gerry Rafferty was born in Paisley, on the outskirts of Glasgow). I was going to write about my Alter Bridge gig in that city. However, I’m trying to put together a special video to go with that post, but my video-making skills aren’t quite there yet. By that, I mean I have no video-making skills so long-suffering hubby is having to do it. 😉 My mind then wandered off thinking about bands and musicians from Glasgow – and this guy and this song popped into my head.
Gerry Rafferty was born into a working-class family in Paisley in 1947. He joined the folk-pop group The Humblebums in 1969, along with another of Glasgow’s famous sons, Billy Connolly. That group disbanded in 1971, after which Gerry recorded his first solo album. He then formed the group Stealers Wheel with Joe Egan in 1972, producing several hits, most notably ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’. In 1978, Gerry recorded his second solo album, City to City, which included ‘Baker Street’, his most popular song.
According to his daughter Martha, the whole album was influenced by the book ‘The Outsider’ by Colin Wilson. Wilson, only 24 at the time, wrote the book in The British Library whilst sleeping rough on Hampstead Heath. Its themes are alienation, creativity and the banality of the modern mind-set. Martha says: ‘It was exactly these themes which my Father experienced during frequent trips down to London to deal with the machinations of the music business and it was ‘The Outsider’ which introduced him to the possibility that there was a way out, the means to transcend the ordinary. Hope. ‘Baker Street’ was born directly from these experiences and in that saxophone solo one can hear the soaring, transcendent optimism of the promise of a new life, a new way of living, the discovery that life could, indeed, be ultimately meaningful’. Indeed.
Gerry continued to make music until 2009, but he suffered from alcoholism all his life, and died of liver failure in 2011, aged 63. He left a legacy of great songs, and I think through this one he’ll live forever. So let that sax solo chase the Monday blues away. Enjoy!
Hello and goodbye! No, not forever, just for a week! Tomorrow is the start of my October holiday. Gigs, friends, shows, funfairs, ballrooms, cups of tea, pints of beer, too many calories…you get the idea.
As you all must know by now (unless you’ve been going la-la-la over my last few posts, and I wouldn’t blame you), I’m off to see awesome band Alter Bridge in concert on Monday AND Tuesday. They will be ably supported by other excellent bands Halestorm and Shinedown. So during the day for the first two days I will be standing in a queue, wearing lots of layers and drinking lots of coffee. In the evenings, I will be getting crushed against a barrier, singing screaming my head off and loving it. Some of you will be mystified by why this could be thought fun, but for me it is, honestly!
Pic courtesy of halestormrocks.com
L-R: Arejay, Josh, Lzzy, Joe
Alter Bridge
Shinedown
Then I’m off to Blackpool for a few days. Once more I will try and drag long-suffering hubby onto the Pepsi-Max Rollercoaster. He always wriggles out of it somehow. 😉 Blackpool, for those overseas readers who don’t know, is the quintessential British seaside town. It’s glitzy, it’s tacky, it’s chilly (at least at this time of year) and it’s fun. The reason we visit in October is for the Illuminations. The town is lit up by millions of bulbs, including the Tower (smaller version of the Eiffel Tower) and the Promenade (which is six miles long). This Lights Festival was founded in 1879 and runs from September to November.
Blackpool Illuminations
Blackpool has three piers, which together with the town have theatres, fortune tellers, and all kinds of other attractions. There is also the Pleasure Beach, one of the most visited amusement parks in the world. It’s home to the massive rollercoaster I keep trying to get hubby to ride on. I think I like Blackpool so much because it reminds of my childhood. We were a seaside holiday sort of family. We didn’t go abroad for various reasons, so resorts like Blackpool were where I spent my summers. I won’t be paddling in the sea at this time of year, though!
When I get back, Halloween will be almost here! That’s an important day in our neighbourhood. More on that next time. On the day itself, Jennifer M Zeiger will be guesting on my blog, talking about scary anthology Midnight Abyss, which is published on Halloween. I’ve read a few of the stories from this new book and they’re great. Looking forward to chatting with Jennifer, and reading Midnight Abyss whilst lying in wait for trick-or-treaters!
Well, I better sign off and start packing lots of woolly jumpers for my queueing and my seaside break. I can’t go without leaving you with an early Music Monday: one more song from Alter Bridge. This is a real crowd pleaser. From their Live at Wembley DVD, here’s ‘Rise Today’.
Next stop on the Rocktober countdown: Shinedown. I confess I got to know this band quite late, considering it’s ten years since they released their first album. I’d been hearing them on rock radio stations for years, but only started to pay proper attention when they released their third album, The Sound of Madness, in 2008. Their fourth album, Amaryllis, is one of those perfect, not-a-bad-song-on-it albums for me. I can happily drive around for hours listening to it.
Pic courtesy of maytherockbewithyou.com. L-R: Zach, Barry, Eric, Brent
Shinedown formed in 2001. Of the original line-up, Brent Smith (vocals) and Barry Kerch (drums) remain, their current line-up featuring Eric Bass (bass) and Zach Myers (guitar). Don’t they do a good job of looking scary in this photo? 😉
Shinedown, along with Halestorm, are supporting the wonderful Alter Bridge on their UK tour – now only one week until I see them all! Yay! Lots of interconnections between these bands: many years ago in 2006, Shinedown played their first overseas concert in London supporting Alter Bridge. In 2010, Shinedown released a deluxe edition of their album The Sound of Madness, featuring the song ‘Breaking Inside’, with guest vocals from Lzzy Hale – great song. Wonder if they’ll sing it together on the tour? Halestorm’s ‘deluxe version’ of ‘Here’s To Us’ features both Brent from Shinedown and Myles from AB on guest vocals.
I think this line-up of bands for a gig is pretty near perfect. Each is a headline act in their own right, so it’s an icing-on-the-cake, cherry-on-top situation to see them altogether. I would also like to say here, that the ticket price is the same as it would be for one band of that calibre. I commend whoever resisted the chance to charge silly money for this tour – because they could have.
My video for this week is ‘Unity’ from Shinedown’s latest album Amaryllis. Shinedown’s music can be quite dark (same as Halestorm and AB – you detecting a pattern here?), but this track is really uplifting. Great concert footage, starting with one of those little mantras that bands chant, to get psyched up to go on stage. They all have them!
Yay, it’s week two of the countdown to entertainment madness (otherwise known as the last week in October). This week it’s the mighty Halestorm on my blog. This band feature a brother and sister who are, respectively, one of the most barking mad drummers I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a few), and my rock chick girl crush. 😉
Pic courtesy of halestormrocks.com L-R: Arejay, Josh, Lzzy, Joe
Lzzy Hale and her brother Arejay started the band over a decade ago when she was 13 and he was 10! Joined in 2004/2005 by guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith, they released their debut album ‘Halestorm’ in 2009. They toured constantly for the following two years, and in 2012 released their second album, ‘The Strange Case Of…’ I loved everything about this album as soon as I heard it, from the title to the wide mix of songs. The album features beautiful ballads, alongside rousing rock anthems and surely one of the fastest songs ever (‘Love Bites’). It was when the band were writing the album that they realised the collection of songs was a bit schizophrenic. Lzzy then went off and wrote ‘Mz Hyde’ about the two different sides to her personality. I think the song perfectly describes me as well, along with quite a few of the other songs that Lzzy has written! I also find that her lyrics inspire my flash fiction and short stories a lot. Hence my little crush on her.
Here’s the video for ‘Freak Like Me’, from the album ‘The Strange Case Of…’. It has some great ‘on tour’ footage, including crowd surfing. It also pretty well describes the bunch of people I’ll be at the gigs with. That’s a COMPLIMENT, guys, before any of you give me a pile of verbal abuse. 😉
Really looking forward to seeing Lzzy and her guys in October. Here they are – enjoy!
Time for some unashamed fangirling now. Today sees the release of ‘Fortress’, the new album by one of my favourite rock bands, Alter Bridge. Three weeks today I go to see and hear them live, along with two other great bands, Shinedown and Halestorm. So, for Music Monday, on the run up to the gig, I’m going to post tracks by each band. My rock fan friends will love this. The rest of you – feel free to skim over this stuff and look out for more sensible blog posts. Although there might not be any of those, as my Creative Writing course starts on Saturday and I’m already mildly freaking out about my workload. 😉
Due to being able to listen to official previews, I have heard the album a few times already and it’s fantastic. A great mix of tracks, from soaring anthems to breathy love songs (although Alter Bridge love songs tend to have a bit of a twist). Actually, a lot of AB’s songs are quite dark. Some of my friends find it surprising that I like this band, as I’m also a glam rock/musical theatre type. I like horror and paranormal fiction, and some of my own writing is dark, so when that comes out in someone’s songwriting, I’m drawn to it. Hubby finds it odd that I like AB because he thinks they’re too ‘heavy’ for me. I keep trying to explain that as long as there’s MELODY, it doesn’t matter to me how heavy the music is. (He doesn’t quite get it).
Photo credits to Austin Hargrave, via metalingus.de
Above from left to right: Mark Tremonti (vocals, guitar), Scott ‘Flip’ Phillips (drums), Brian Marshall (bass) and Myles Kennedy (vocals, guitar). Don’t let the scary tattooed look fool you – they’re all dedicated, (fairly) clean-living family men!
In my opinion, Myles Kennedy is the best living vocalist in rock. (Hi, Freddie, wherever you are). I will get people shouting lots of other names at me here: Corey Taylor, Brent Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Steven Tyler, to name but a few. Yes, I love all of these guys. I did say ‘in my opinion’. Myles’s amazing vocal range, together with heartfelt delivery and charismatic stage presence, make him a force to be reckoned with. Before anyone says it, yes, the fact that he is very easy on the eyes helps too!
My Muse 😉
Fortress album artwork, courtesy of Metalhammer.
Myles and Mark are both talented singer-songwriters. Their guitar-playing backgrounds are very different. Myles honed his skills playing blues and jazz, and even taught guitar at one point. Mark is a self-taught, speed metal guitarist. They complement one another perfectly. Together with their rhythm section of Brian and Flip, they make a formidable whole. Stand-out songs for me on the new album so far: ‘Calm the Fire’, which shows off Myles’s incredible vocal range, ‘All Ends Well’, written by Myles from his mum’s point of view, talking to the insecure younger him (genius idea), and ‘Lover’ which sounds very breathy and sexy, then you listen to the lyrics… Mark takes lead vocal for the first time on ‘Waters Rising’, which will delight fans. Mark has shown his ability as a frontman with his band ‘Tremonti’ over the last year.
I’m not setting out to review the album or do a bio of the band here; this is just me talking about why I love their music. So much so that I will queue all day to get to the front row of the gig, along with a lot of other like-minded loonies (you know who you are). 😉
I’ve featured two videos below. The first is ‘Addicted to Pain’, the first single from ‘Fortress’. This is ‘loud, fast and thrashin”, as they say. We all know somebody in a relationship like the one the song is describing. The video complements the dark, angry tone of the song. If you don’t like dark and heavy, give it a miss, and skip to the next one…
…‘Watch Over You’, from AB’s second album, ‘Blackbird’. A beautiful ballad, although if you listen to the lyrics – there’s that twist. Myles often performs this as a solo acoustic number during their live set, which works brilliantly and usually has the crowd (and sometimes him!) in tears.
Alter Bridge are a band who are not nearly as well known as they deserve to be. They have built up a well-deserved following through regular touring and interacting with fans (hello, AB Nation)! They sell out arenas all over Europe and the UK. ‘Fortress’ could be the album that makes them a household name.
We did it! All right, maybe it’s not much by some people’s standards, but hubby and I are feeling pretty pleased that we succeeded in walking Miles for Macmillan.
For anyone who missed me constantly going on about it, on Sunday 15th September hubby and I walked 8 miles in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. The walk took place at Chatelherault Country Park in Lanarkshire, which is a beautiful place, ideal for picnics, looking at wildlife, visiting the hunting lodge and gardens… Unfortunately on Sunday it wasn’t so ideal for any of this, as it was raining heavily and there was a howling gale – blowin’ a hoolie, as we Scots say!
We knew in advance that the weather forecast was poor and in good old Scottish style it didn’t let us down. Undeterred, we got out of bed and drove the 30 miles to the event. Another 400 or so crazy people also didn’t let the weather put them off. Hubby and I had kitted out in many layers, waterproofs and hats, but for those who hadn’t, the event organisers were giving out rain macs and plenty of extra T-shirts. I have to say a big well done to the organisers and volunteers who remained cheery and upbeat in spite of horrible conditions, waterlogged ground and soggy walkers!
At the start…
…along with lots of other soggy folk
One plus point about our 8 mile course was that most of it was sheltered, as it took us through forest – some of which is the oldest in the country. The walk got underway on time at 11 am and after less than a mile we were in amongst the trees and out of the rain and wind. The downside was that it was muddy and slippery in places, so our pace was slower than when we had been training. But it wasn’t a race, so we took it carefully and there were no mishaps. Everyone had been warned about potential danger areas – part of the course took us along the banks of the River Avon where there was some erosion, and there were tree roots and some steps to contend with. Again, the organisers had done a brilliant job with many stewards and First Aiders along the course, and the danger zones taped off and signposted.
Through ancient woodland
Past raging torrents
The last mile and a half of the walk was out in the open but by the time we were finishing – hurrah! the sun was trying to come out and the rain had eased off a lot. We completed the course in 2 ½ hours. This was about half an hour longer than expected but understandable due to the adverse conditions. Apart from slightly sore calves and knees, I don’t seem to have any ill effects, although I was in bed by half past ten that night, which is unheard of. 😉
Across rainy, windy open ground
Finish line in sight!
We raised well over our target so a big thank you to everyone who sponsored us. As promised, here is a pic of me at the finishing line, although I’m not as red in the face as I expected!
Hubby and I with our medals at the finish
I did intend to publish this post on Music Monday, but due to unexpected circumstances it’s a little late. So let’s call it Tuneful Tuesday instead. Here’s the song that sums up how hubby and I felt on completing the course. You’ve probably already guessed from the title of my post – it’s Queen, with We Are The Champions!
Kaz Ess 
