Three Views Of A Solo

There are now three videos of our version of Love Is A Battlefield on Youtube. Two from house concerts, one in a club. The solo has evolved into a completely insane noise-fest, from it's origins as a mildly screwed up shred-fest... 

This was one of the first times (if not THE first time) we'd ever played it live - and certainly the first time I'd ever done the mad solo on it. I think I just got a little self-conscious at how 80s it was up to that point... 

The other two are closer together - first, at a house concert just outside London back in May, which features some fantom BVs from people in the audience... 

And then this one from a house concert in Milwaukee, in June (the music starts about a minute or so into this one, as Tracy left in the silliness at the beginning :) ) 

three slightly different versions of the tune - do you have a favourite? 

Two Things On Bandcamp You Really Ought To Hear.

A little diversion from the 30 Days Of Music project to flag up a couple of things you really ought to hear. One narcissistic, one not. :) 

Firstly, released in the last couple of days, is the brand new album from Zöe Keating. I've enjoyed Zöe's music for a long time, but she's really outdone herself with the new album. It's incredible, and beautifully recorded - listen to it in full here, then go buy it if you dig it:

And Secondly, a record you may already have heard about - mine and Lobelia's new live album. It was recorded on the first week of our tour, mixed during the second week and released straight away. We are now able to do pristine multitrack recordings of everything we do, and on these gigs we had some amazing collaborators - Todd Reynolds on violin and Neil Alexander on keyboards. The album contains one solo track from me, two duets between Lobelia and todd, a trio of Lo and I with Todd and a duet between Neil and I and a duet between Todd and I. It's pretty diverse, not the kind of thing it'd be easy to get a label to back, but fortunately, our audience have broader minds than the industry that seeks to tell us what we should listen to ;)

Here it is, listen in full then pay whatever you think it's worth to you:

http://music.stevelawson.net/album/live-so-far">I'm Lost (Featuring Todd Reynolds) by Steve Lawson http://music.stevelawson.net/album/live-so-far">I'm Lost (Featuring Todd Reynolds) by Steve Lawson

So far, the live album sales have been a big help to us in paying for petrol and food on the trip. Thank you to everyone who's bought it for making touring more sustainable for us.

30 Days of Music, Day 16 - A song I Used To Love But Now Hate.

ah, now this is tricky...
Actually, no it's not. This is more a 'i remember this being a lot better than it sounds now' - I didn't listen to this song for decades...

...Possibly 22 years. And I remembered it being awesome.
So when Lo and I were having one of our 'do you remember this song?' sessions on youtube, I pulled it up, declaring it to be supremely awesome. And subsequently had a MASSIVE amount of egg on my face when it turned out to be fairly turgid mullet rock of the least imaginative kind... ah well.