Arty Farty and Farewell to Ute

Well, what a weekend it was! Inspiring, fun and not a little emotional. First, Friday Night saw me singing solo at the 'Artists "not working" night in The Project Room,' Jericho, Oxford. Toni Le Busque, our favourite badge-making, Dunt-based artiste, was showing off a load of her massive black and white drawings.
It was a great opportunity to see the variety of her work. My favourite was the piece called called 'There Are Stars in the Dirt, There Are Stars in Your Hair, There Are Bits of Stars Everywhere'. After much shmoozing and sucking on stubs of beer d'Alsace I played a few songs, including some newbies from my new solo EP (ready for release any day now).Here's a sneaky peek of the front cover by Toni Le Busque, of course!

EP front cover

The Project Room was a great space to play in and the audience were friendly, attentive and very much captive (since it's a particularly 'intimate' space). I met some lovely and talented people including an enthusiastic cello-playing Dr of Physics and the artist Jeremy Darge (who inspired the band name: The Inventions of Jerry Darge).  A big thanks for Emma Titcombe for putting the night on and for Toni for asking me to play. Dear artists, please put on more nights like this!

Ute's final Oxford gig

"Why emotional?" I hear you cry. Well, Saturday night was the night of the mighty Ute's last Oxford gig at Blessing's Force's take over of Modern Art Oxford. This is the first time I've been to one of these nights and I was pleased to see Oxfork supplying some yummy food to go with the mix of art and music. Ute played an outstanding final gig and the atmosphere on and off the stage was intense. Especially during 'The Innocent Taylor' when they crowd joined in screaming "WHY," which seemed to be the question on everyone's lips. Read their announcement here. I've seen Ollie play in various bands throughout our school days, one of my favorites was Tinderbox. I remember the first time I saw Ute play - it was mesmerizing.. Their sound has changed and evolved so much since then but watching them perform has always been inspiring. You also couldn't hope to meet a nicer bunch of guys. I wish them luck in whatever 'incarnation' they take next. RIP One of Oxford's finest bands.

We're off to Bristol on Friday. Come and say hello if you're down that way.