Grin Scab is alive…

Back in September 2009 (!) I briefly mentioned a new project I was involved in called GypScab, with my friends Grinner and Seamus (with Justin doing the artwork – above). As part of that I did a liveset about a year ago as a test. It went well but then I got busy with other things.

In the meantime I have worked on some really interesting sounding stuff as part of this project but nothing will be formally release until next year.

Recently though Seamus and Grinner got fed up with waiting for me, took the live recording I did and fleshed it out into a fully-fledged 39 minute long tune! They also got scared of offending travellers, so we are now named Grin Scab. Behold…

Grin Scab on SoundCloud

Me and my tuba

Following on from my initial dabbling with tuba, Hog and bass amp at Supersonic Festival this year, I have decided to take it up properly. Not only that but myself, Ben Waddington and Stuart Estell have formed a tuba trio, around a great idea. More on that as things develop.

Luckily Stuart is a tuba player of some merit already. In fact he’s a really amazing musical all round and he’s kindly offered to teach us. It’s all pretty damn daunting but it’s also one of the most exciting instruments I have ever attempted to play. It’s a full-body physical experience! It’s also pretty chuffing hard. Nobody can deny that I have a mountain to climb. I am taking on the dual tasks of learning a new instrument to performance standard and learning how to read music (bass-clef). Apparently I am off to a solid start but it is definitely time for some serious practice. Wish me luck!

Ooh, and here she is:

(now that is HEAVY METAL!)

And relax…kinda

With the completion of another hugely successful (and fun) Theremin Day workshop last weekend, I have decided it is time for a rest from public-facing events for a while. 2010 has been a very busy year for me. As well as my full-time job I have committed to and delivered so many projects that my time for reflection and learning has been severely rationed. That’s not to say I haven’t learnt stuff through the things I have done this year. I have learnt a lot of stuff! To think that I had never built a circuit from scratch until this year is still pretty amazing to me, especially given the confidence and knowledge with which I ran the workshop last weekend! Also, 2010 has been about planting seeds for the future, working with people I admire on projects that inspire me and generally trying new stuff out. I am more than happy with the outcomes!

I have a couple of major projects in the pipeline that need some time devoting to them, plus I want some studio time to try out some ideas I’ve been pondering. Add to that the various conversations I am having with some inspirational and influential people and I hope there is some really exciting stuff to come.

I leave you with a few pictures of people enjoying the workshop last week and of what they created…plus one of me going boggle-eyed trying to find a fault ;)

Thanks to Martin at DMC for the images and for organising the workshop!