Count Up To Edinburgh: #2 First run through

Hello. Last blog I was a bit pissed off, it happens, it's life, we move on. Even if the moving bit is like Trains Planes and Automobiles, when the car being driven by Steve Martin and John Candy has blown up, but they are still able to drive the thing, all burnt out and just about running but moving none the less. Just did the first run through of all the material so far, with some of the music interludes I've made. It went ok. I'm excited, but also realise there's a lot of work to do. Am playing with a loop station for two of the stories, not 100% confident on it yet but we'll see if that's something I go on to eventually use.

As it stands, there are 8 stories with more to come. In each show there will probably be time for 5 or 6. What I'm aiming for, is to have a whole bunch of material that I'm able to chop and change for each show, depending on the vibe I get with the audience. Each story is written to stand alone but together they all form this wider narrative. When I was a nipper, my big sister had all these Duran Duran 7 inch singles, if you layed them all out together they made this bigger picture, which was also the artwork on the album sleeve, I always liked that idea. So that's what I'm playing with. I'm using the stories form The 90 Sick E.P which are well tested and a few of the others I've preformed at various open mikes and scratch events, so material wise I think I'm in a good place. Just got to learn it all now and work out what I'm doing with each one physically, I have a few ideas..

Putting it altogether was fun though. Whilst doing it, I suddenly felt that pressure to select the right story when the music interludes were playing, it was an odd pressure, the type of which I hadn't felt for a while. Reminded me of MCing in clubs all thoses years ago, anticipating a drop on a tune about to kick in, and I had to quickly work out what lyrics I would use. This is uncharted territory for me, with other shows and spoken word gigs everything is usually pre-planned so I'm a little nervous in that respect, being that it's larlgy unplanned, well sort of anyway.

Gonna have another pop at it today so we'll see how it goes. Enjoy the sunshine

This Friday 27th NOv plus new stuff on the Soundcloud

This Friday I'm dropping half an hour's worth of new stuff at

7 Minute Itch, all in aid of the new show I've been banging about which now has a working title of: (Drumroll...)

The C/D Borderline.

Also stepping up on the night with new stuff are Michelle Madson (who set the thing up) Bridgette Minamore (We go way back, Rubix and all that!) Imogen Butley-Cole (who I've not seen before but I'm told is very good) and the legend Gary From Leeds (becoming a bit of a thing this, me and him on the same bill dropping new stuff!)

It's FREE entry - but you need a ticket which you can get HERE 

Elssewhere this week, in my limited, clustered headspace and Soundcloud page, I uploaded another track from The 90 Sick E.P, produced by Elian Gray, I present, None To Run. Enjoy. Hopefully.

 

What's happening / what's happened / what might happen

Yea. Summer's alright is'nt it? Who cares about the rain. I don't like getting wet but I like the rain. Any chance to look out of the window and not do anything other than watch the drops dribble down the glass, know what I mean?

I hope it does'nt rain this weekend though, becuase I'm off to SHAMBALA FESTIVAL and tents are one thing, tents and wellies are another thing, tents, wellies and mud can fuck right off. Tents, wellies, mud, and drunk/drugged up hedonstic kids can...anyway I'm looking foreward to it, belive it or not. It's my second year and I'll be performng on Friday and Sunday night with the NATURAL BORN STORY TELLERS. I like these lot, it's a whole different circle to the normal spoken word type gigs that I do, it's just stright real life stories, some of the guys on their rosta are brilliant. Check this video of Martha McBrier, met her last year, she's wicked.

 Yesterday, I was back down at my parents house sorting through some old stuff, making excuses to keep things that I probabaly have no use for, when I got a tweet through from Sabotage Reviews with a link to their review of the 90 Sick E.P launch back at Roundhouse in May. I was pretty chuffed with it, big up Lettie McKie. Have a look HERE. They gave me 4 stars, which I'm chuffed about, even though I don't really understand the whole stars system. 

'Paul has written an articulate series of personal stories that are very easy to relate to. The poems are nostalgic, laughing at but also relishing the silliness of being young, showing great affection for the characters who are struggling against inexperience and a tide of insecurities'

Listen/purchase the EP HERE

Back at the end of July I lead a week long series of workshops as part of the UNICORN THEATRE'S URBAN ARTS WEEK - looking at spoken word and rap (with a bit of singing and beatboxing). I was blessed to have a great group, really talented and indiviudally all really interesting, and as a whole, sick. As with all the other courses in that week, they all came togethor on the Friday and performed in a showcase. I've said this many times before, and I mean it, I actually prefer watching these youth showcases, more often than not, I think they're better, more engagaing and enjoyable to watch than their professional adult equivialnts. Here's a video of Darcy, Cee Cee and Jamal perfomring SOUTH SIDE, which they wrote themselvs during one of the sessions. (and which stayed in my head for days after!)

In other news, had a bit of time over the last few weeks to take stock of things, hence all of the old peoms I've been putting up. These last 2 / 3 years I've certianly learnt a lot and I'm hopefully going to be putting some of that into practise. Think I know where I want to go over the next few months, writing wise, don't want to say too much now but I'm pretty excited..

Have a banging last few weeks of summer.

Update and that

Hello. Yea, been a wee while that I've posted on here, again. Had plans to set up a new website, got a new domain and everything, just no site...yet. Anyway, things have been pretty nuts last few months. Snce Janaury I've gone back to working a normal job, inbetween still doing the shows and workshops, it's been alright actually, my rent is being paid on time, I'm just pretty busy. I've recently finished a project working with the Tricycle Theatre up in Neasdon which was fun and I'm about to embark on a summer arts program with The Unicorn Thetare. Things are still ticking over.

Gigs wise, I was at the Branichild Festival for the first time last week and Lovebox the saturday just gone, as well as hosting a Truth About Youth event for Oval House Theatre, all of which were very enjoyable and full of decent people. I'm going away for a few days this week for something that is'nt a festival or gig related (imagaine that!) and after that I'll be at The Forge in Camden for the  Outspoken night, which is set to be a banger.

 The 90 Sick E.P is now up on  BANDCAMP, CDBABY and ITUNES (for some reason the EP does'nt show up on any searches, dunno, maybe them Itunes people are ashmed of it?! Mugs!) and  more soon. Different pricing on all of them, I get no say with I tunes. Either way, if someone doesnt want to purchase the full EP they an get 3 of the tracks for 79p each. Silly innit. I havant sold many so far but fuck it, I'm proud I've acatually done something and it exists both pysically and on line. Had a lovly reveiw from Ulterior mag;  ?! Anyway, here's the full thing ..

Yea yea sick yea

Taken from the forthcoming The 90 Sick E.P

Launch 30th May @ Roundhouse, London

 

Tickets HERE

The 90 Sick E.P Launch

The 90 Sick E.P Launch show 

30th May @ Roundhouse

1 P.M £7.50 

 TICKETS HERE

The 90 Sick E.p @ Scratch That Hackney

In amongst the madness of rehearsing for No Milk For The Foxes and recording The 90 Sick E.P I'm gonna be doing a small segment of the E.p This Friday at Hackney Scratch. It's a new writing special and there's p[pretty sick acts on the bill come and reach if you can!

What's Happening?

Hello.

So were in February now and I've been a bit quiet, but then again have I? I've been plugging away at my desk down here in deepest Mordoor writing and editing!

The 90 Sick E.P

In the summer of 2013 I was part of a show called 90'S BPM which, as the title suggests was all about the 90's. I wound up wiring quite a lot more than I needed and over the last 18 months I've been slowly working on putting all of this into a solo project, which will be an E.P and a show called The 90 Sick E.P. It will take the form of 4 stories which span the decade.

At the moment, in between working at a school I've been getting up early in the mornings and re-editing all the stuff I wrote previously to sync with the new stuff which is a slow but rewarding process. The project should be finished by April and all going well there will be a a launch at the end of May.

My desk, very early in the morning!