Badgeification

It's nearly February so I've decided to celebrate.. with badges!

These badges are designed by notorious polymath, Toni Le Busque-Badgetarian, and have on them Toni's own special take on my song lyrics. Each is unique and you can get your hands on one just by joining my mailing list.

Gigs!? Next week I'll be playing at the Port Mahon with Mr Humphrey Astley on guitar and Mr Nizou Ben Ayed on keys. It'll be a little smidge of what my new band has been working on - so do come on down for a listen and to pick up your badge! This night has been organised by a new website called Live and Loud- it's my first L'n'L gig so I don't know how it'll turn out - could be interesting. The FB page is here. Be there for 8.00pm if you can - and it's £4 on the door.

I can now confirm that my new band 'Mara' will be playing our first Oxford show at the Cellar on the 31st March (more acts TBA soon) - so, as the Venerable Chopping puts it: "Get out your diaries! Get out your diaries! Moleskin, iPhone, Filofax..."

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! The holidays are gone - way to fast.. but at least the rivers have thawed and the swans are free from their ice-traps. True Story!

A New Year always brings on a little reflection and I have decided to kick start this one by entering Live and Unsigned 2011.  My audition is in 6 weeks  (ARGH!). At the moment I'm trying to figure out which song I should audition with. I have 2 minutes to prove to a judging panel made up of radio presenters and record labels that I'm a worthy contender, so choosing the song isn't easy. Any ideas?

The album artwork has arrived and I've included a little sneak peek of the front cover. Elisa Muliere has done an amazing job, painting an image for each track.  It was an interesting experiment to see how (or if) a painter could translate my music into visual art. Elisa is a poet with a paintbrush so I asked her only to draw what she heard in my songs, without any direction or request from me at all. All I'll say for now is that the result is unsettlingly cool..More news on the album to follow.

Billboards: Video

Check out this video of yours truly singing 'Billboards' which will be on the new album.



Tamara Parsons-Baker from Henry Stead on Vimeo.

Billboards

The Common Room Review

Check out this neat review of The Common Room music weekend by Tom Jowett.  Huck and the Handsome Fee played on the Sunday and enjoyed a great weekend of live music at the Jericho Tavern. 

The Fee have also just had some rather exciting news about a gig we're playing in February. More news to follow in the New Year.

The hardest thing about being in a band is naming it.

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat... and, with two practices under our belts, the new band is burning to start gigging. The way things are going I think we will be ready by March. 2010 has been a year bursting with music and definitely the best fun so far. Joining Huck and the Handsome Fee and hopping over the pond for our US road-trip tour was an experience I'll never forget. I recorded my solo EP with Humphrey in Martin's Studio 101, and then finally formed my own band. Sounds pretty busy already and I've not even got onto all the great gigs like: supporting Simon Armitage (article here), and Borderville at the Jericho Tavern - Caroline Bird, Yo Zushi and Ute at the Isis - and Ulysses Storm at the Cellar; The Fee headlining London Poetry Systems' April show at the Jam Factory with Laura Dockrill and Luke Kennard; and our fearsome US launch show with Undersmile. Oh, and Glynn Maxwell at The Vaults. So many great bands, poets and artists - racking up the memories! The EP, including artwork by the darkly brilliant Elisa Muliere, will be ready for the start of 2011 to kick-off what I hope will be another year of hard work, exciting times, and plenty of plenty of music.

Gigs this month:

16th Dec: SOLO GIG: I'll be playing at the Brickworks. They are featuring architecture work by Christine Murphy and Christine Murphy, Iris Michailou, Widget, Adrian Buckle and more.

17th Dec: Huck and the Handsome Fee will be supporting Undersmile's album launch at the Bully with Desert Storm and Komrad.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me thus far and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

T x

The First Rehearsal

So, the new band had its first rehearsal on Friday and it couldn't have gone better, especially considering I hadn't even heard two of the members play before.  I was in a few bands at school and I love being in the Fee, but I've never had my own band playing my songs. For some reason I'd always seen myself as an acoustic solo artist and, despite secretly craving a band, I always ended up joining other people's rather than starting my own. Friday felt like the beginning of something special. I feel really lucky because not only are the band all grimly talented, but we're also having loads of fun with the songs.  'Real Bad Lover' is one of those songs in which you can really let yourself go and explore the building chaos of a pretty warped story, bringing in some slightly sinister cabaret sounds into the mix.  It contrasts dramatically with 'Hang My Picture', which is soft for the most part, but then gently builds to a huge sweeping sound that snaps back down in an instant.  Each member has a real style of their own - but what's great is that we all seem to be able to mould these together without steering the song away from the story I'm telling. Such a sensitive bunch of mercenaries! We've got another rehearsal next week and I can't wait, I have such a good feeling about this.

New Song: Hany My Picture

Just a quick note to let you know that 'Hang My Picture' from my new album of the same name has just been uploaded to myspace.  The album is due to be finished ready for release in the new year. Enjoy!

Listen here.