Goodbye to 2011...

So, we've finally seen the back of 2011... Can't say I'm too disappointed!

It's been an interesting year in many ways - some not so great! As I mentioned in great length below, the year started with a horrendous dose of the flu (no, not man flu this time) which perforated both my eardrums - nay, blew them entirely inside out. As I was getting over this, I was then hit with Bell's Palsy. Horrible scenario...

Anyone else also notice that 2011 was a pretty tough financially year? Yep, thought there may be a few takers! A good bit of belt tightening all round and a weather eye on the jobs market as the cost of living for the average middle income (us) family skyrocketed and yet again my income was fixed for the third year in a row. Things are starting to hurt and I'm now seriously considering a second job as a rent boy at Leith docks.... Only joking, I'm not pretty enough any more.

On the upside, the summer brought a great celebration in the form of being a guest at one of my oldest mates, Robert, and his marriage to Carol. This was a fantastic day in the brilliant sunshine of Stirling Management Centre. Plenty of chilled white wine flowed throughout the day and old friendships were re-kindled. One of note was that of Dawn and David Mathieson - David whom I hadn't seen for many years. The conversation and company was out of this world for Fiona and I - catching up on a good 20 odd years worth of stories. There were even one or two photos (thanks Dawn) which probably shouldn't have seen the light of day but ended up splattered all over Facebook!

August saw the long awaited release of the SQA Highers results and we could find out just how brilliantly Christie had done... 5 A's! Absolutely could not have done better and made us all so proud. As I said to her, no-one can EVER take these away! Some of the most important qualifications of her life and she excelled! We were and still are delighted!

On the Music scene, I'm not going to post too much - it's all on The Shine's site www.theshineonline.co.uk. Just a couple of highlights - sadly, bass player Stevie Partick moved on around the middle of the year. Stevie is a great guy and we had some fantastic laughs during his time with the band. Good memories... Within 48 hours of his departure, John Petrie joined the band on bass - and we took on a new lease of life! John's a stunning player and an absolute pleasure to be with. Also in "Shine-world" we were absolutely delighted to have not only gained a new venue with Saucy Mary's in Kyleakin but also some new friends in Laura, Danii, Sammi & Ali. Fantastic place and fantastic people!!

So we now enter the unknown of 2012. Surely to God things will start to improve this year. Here's all my best wishes to everyone - as I go and play with the fantastic new toys Fiona bought me for Christmas!!

Best of luv,

Neil

Dark Days....

I know this is probably a bit self indulgent but I'm really doing it (1) to remind myself at later times and (2) possibly hold out a branch of support if anyone else goes through it... On Sunday 27th March 2011, I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy at Stirling Royal Infirmary and - frankly - it scared the shit out of me!! Sunday morning, Fiona had just come back from taking the dogs out and in the immortal words used by many I said "I don't feel too good"... She looked at me and agreed, my left eye was wide open, pupil dilated and unable to blink, the left hand of my face was frozen and paralysed and speech was becoming almost impossible. Scary scary stuff as it hit so hard and so quickly. Fiona and I were probably both equally concerned, thinking - STROKE! I then set the wheels in motion by calling NHS 24. After a 3 hour wait (possibly until the staff had watched Scotland being beaten 2-0 by Brazil), an appointment was set for me at Stirling Royal. After a thorough consultation, blood pressure tests etc. the doctors diagnosed Bell's Palsy. Knowing nothing about this, I was initially just relieved it was not a stroke. Firstly, what is Bell's Palsy? It's a non-contageous inflamation of the facial nerve which runs through a narrow skull cavity (usually left) and then branches out to control the muscles of the eye, tongue, mouth, face and even taste. With the inflamation, the nerve swells and is constricted by the cavity - blocking the signals initially and, potentially, permanently (although this is rare). So, as is my norm (and completely bloody foolishly) I dosed up on the prescribed steriod the following day and ventured to work in Dunfermline. This was a total waste of time as I was a road hazard with a rapidly drying out left eye, a twisted face and an inability to speak. Had to be done though as there were significant operational works starting. Commitments fulfilled, I abandoned in real distress around 2pm. Following a further doctor's consultation and the provision of a further 7 days required steriods, it was identified that I would be signed off work for 2 weeks (if that's entirely possible when the Blackberry's lying there). So, what's the worst thing about this horrible condition? I've now been living with it for a week now and can sum up briefly in one word - frustration! Unlike a stroke, my brain is still functioning at lightning speed and my body physically is A1 - but communication's a real issue. As is drinking coffee I have to say - tricky for an 8 cup a day guy! The other aspect is that there is no finite timescale for Bell's Palsy to lift. Apparently it can vary from a week to a year - sometimes never. One week on I can state that it hasn't lifted although I was chuffed to bits after 5 days that I could almost blink normally again - less need for the gungy Vaseline like ointment in my eyes overnight and artifical tears during the day. I had great support from a long standing musician friend of mine, George Futter, who gave me great advice as he had suffered from this in the 70's. In a nutshell, don't stress, give it time and it WILL clear. Believe me, I appreciated this more than all the other fussing and phaffing from various people who all had "the definative timescale". George also advised adapting to the temporary paralysis and, where possible, laughing about it. VERY good advice as what the hell else can you do? One thing I will mention is stress.... Bearing in mind the communication problems, long telephone calls are a major stress and I've found over the past week they've actually aggravated the problem in the short term. Picking up the odd work email on Blackberry = stress = same aggravation. Killer blow - Letter from the Inland Revenue = STRESS = Severe aggravation! Then I simply thought, what the fuck, they can ALL wait until I'm recovered. Even, where possible, I've decided to let the answering machine filter phone calls... So, entering week 2, hopefully I'll see an ongoing improvement. Got the eye back - now can I have my speech or a coffee without dribbling please? In completely back to front order, here's how it all came about... On Tuesday 8th March I came down with the most killer dose of flu I think I've ever had! And I mean that, bed was like a swimming pool from sweating scrunched foetal in a serious fever. Again, work came first and I went in to take part in the interviewing of two candidates. I then took one day off, dosed up on whatever I could find and returned by the end of the week. Did a whole week at work the following week as I couldn't afford to be away - despite feeling like shit. Then, Saturday 19th March I woke up with severe ear ache and blood leaking from both ears - that's a worry I thought.... As a result, I took the following Monday off work and visited the doctors to find I had perforated BOTH eardrums severely (you don't ofen hear a doctor diagnosing with the words "Oh my God, that's REALLY nasty!" - encouraging huh?). Prescription antibiotics obtained it was back to work the following day because I felt I had to... Then, the following weekend - coming full circle - the Bell's Palsy hit! Conclusion bit now that I've had this for a week and, as George advised, I'm learning how to cope with it. Bell's Palsy's not infectious, it doesn't make you any less intelligent (bear in mind what I said about my mind working just as fast), it's usually a temporary condition in the vast majority of cases, stress definitely aggravates it, it takes it's own time to lift and (check out www.bellspalsy.org.uk) there's loads of famous and normal people who've had it.

Oh God.... Here We Go Again!!

Well, it's fair to say my writing comes in fits and starts - for years nothing but a senile old dribble... Followed by a flood. Inspiration come from the strangest places as I'll explain.

For a while now, I've had a half written song on my PDA (a great device for songwriting as you can note down scraps in the same way as on scraps of paper but without the fear of throwing it away while tangled up with some parking receipt). This song was titled "The Drowning Pool"... But more of that later. Possibly the biggest hurdle for me writing is I think I'm past the "moon, soon, balloon", "I love you, love me, love you" kind of phase in my life where songs are written to impress girls - although if any girls are impressed by recent offerings, BONUS!

What started me off again following "It Can't Rain All The Time" was the above picture. This is from an Alchemy Gothic t-shirt I just had to buy on eBay. The scene depicts the Absynthe Fairy. Thus I came up with the title "Absynthia" Now, my motive for this is not airy fairy abstract, I am particularly partial to Absynthe on occasion, although a night on Absynthe is a weird experience!! First you experience a liquid fire quite unlike any other alcohol, then your system becomes numbed to the burn, then you get drunk VERY quickly... But the weirdest thing of all is that the wormwood content kicks in and your mind does weird things - particularly when you stagger to sleep. "Absynthia" is about all that - a marrying of the strange experience of being utterly pissed on Paris's finest and an echo back to the Bohemian era of the early 20th Century. Slainthe! Once the words started to flow, coupled with non stop listening of the new Abel Ganz album "Shooting Albatross", I realised this song should actually be a journey. In conclusion, the concept is in my head and it looks like about a 20 minute piece of work.

Next up, let's go back to "The Drowning Pool". The theme of this song is that of a young woman accused of witchcraft in the dark ages. The lyric takes us through the kind of scene as she is led to her death. The question is, is she innocent or guilty? I don't know, does she weigh the same as a duck (obscure Monty Python - Holy Grail reference). Hopefully this one won't be quite as long - equally, hopefully I can add touches such as the brilliant Stevie Lawrence & Fiona Cuthill elements of "Shooting Albatross".

The final completed lyric again has a tenuous link to the mighty Ganz. I had the pleasure of being at the recent launch of Albatross at Stereo in Renfield Lane, Glasgow back at the end of March. As I stood outside in the lane, I pondered how strange a quirk it was in my home city that, joining all the major thoroughfares, are small cobbled lanes. Through a combination of Taggart episodes and watching late night revellers pass the end of the lane on Union Street, Renfield Street and suchlike, they could be completely unaware of anyone in the lane. Or even a body perhaps... So, while my wife was waiting (fruitlessly) to hurl herself out of a plane at 10,000ft, I put together this lyric - pretty quickly really... The story goes of a young woman dying in such a lane in a city centre. It is taken from a first person perspective but given no indication that the person is dead. On reading back the lyric, what I think I can do with this is (1) treat it as almost a follow up to Pallas's "The Ripper" but (2) with the news report section at the end, make it the same theme as Paul Kelly's brilliant "Dreamaway" by Abel Ganz.

Now the hard part - how to record them (and come up with another 3 or 4 to make an album).

Oh yeah, and complete the couple of The Shine lyrics Andy and I have been jointly working on...

Finally got round to it....

I've been meaning to do this for years... Even before Scott was born...

I always wanted a final tattoo which would show my love for Fiona and the kids. Partly spurred by my good friend Davie Mitchell of Abel Ganz (http://www.abelganz.com/) who had a stunning set of angel wings done in memory of his beloved late wife Jane, and partly due to some perfect free time in Edinburgh - I bit the bullet.

I chose the tree of life as this truly represents all that's important. Fiona's right there in the centre of the tree with Christie and Scott to either side. As the branches reach up, they curve and come back down to form the roots. Eternal... Fitting....

A certain red haired Polis however wasted no time in hurling the usual "body mutilator" comments. Well, fuck it! I like it, I like the sentiment and it's my body! To me it's art!

The birth of Godiva!

She is born! She is here!! As the bulge in Andy's trouser department will testify, I have successfully customised my Peavey guitar (now re-christened Godiva).

For the technically anally retentive (yup, Andy again), here's a brief overview of what I did...

This could almost be subtitled "Don't believe what you read"... All will become apparent.Initially, I thought I might buy yet another guitar (number 8) with some deeply offensive graphics and a rock 'n' roll image. Then I thought, why buy another when I could do up an existing guitar to sound perfect - and, as it turned out - look perfect. Rather than simply change the pickups, I decided to remove the whole pickplate assembly and replace everything from the wood up.

Business end - I bought a Seymour Duncan Cool Rails pickup for the neck, a Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails for the mid and a Seymour Duncan 'Lil 59 humbucker for the bridge. After extensive research, apparently this would give me a '63 Strat sound with the neck / mid positions and a '59 Les Paul on the bridge... Hmmm, nice. Add to this, I couldn't just connect these to any old crappy electronics, I added brand new American pots (a push / pull on one to coil tap the 'Lil 59), an American 5 way selector and top of the range Sprague Orange Drop capacitors (a 0.1uF on the neck and a 0.047uF on the bridge). All of this was connected with new American Fender spec replacement wiring.

In terms of "don't believe what you read" - I followed Seymour Duncan's wiring diagram to the letter... And ended up with a non-operational tone circuitry. After much tearing of hair, gnashing of teeth and emails to Andy, a flash of inspiration came to me while driving to work one day! Seymour was wrong! I then copied the layout on the original Peavey plate and VOILA! Perfect.

Looks - I had commissioned a custom designed new pickplate after Googling for "Naked girl on a horse" (hence Godiva). I then added to this new chrome hardwear, stainless steel screws and abalone topped knobs.Add to this the Grover locking machine heads I had already installed, the job was done....

UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you GODIVA!

Studio Tan #3

This blog post goes out to Iain!!

We were back in the studio today for session number 3 of the solo album. At one point, I heard Iain and Colin agreeing that they wished they had an ability on a melody musical instrument - well, all I can say is that Iain's the most musical "non melody player" there is!!

We're now at the "labour pains" point in the game. The album's finished!! All we nned to do now is schedule one more for some odd backing vocals and then the final mix!

Today was a gas! The bass line for Follow The Piper was redone, followed by all the remaining guitar parts - lead and clean rhythm. Then we had the chance to add all the silly bits we always wanted to do out of the constraints of The Shine.

First up, Enigma was launched with the first ever use of my Talk Box - sounding good!! Next up, in terms of guitar, much to Colin's, well, delight (?) was some strategic ebow on various tracks. Then Mr Wilson took to the floor.

Iain and I had discussed various rhythm additions so my bud got down to business... First of all, Piper was given a military snare overlay, followed by a muted floor tom - AWESOME! Next up, it was time for "shakermaker". The first track to get this treatment was Close So Close with Iain on shaker and yours truly bashing hell out of a fire extinguisher with a drumstic! Sounds incredible so thanks to XTC for this ingenious idea. Always the true professional, Iain didn't even miss a beat on one of his conga patters when I casually flashed my bare arse at him - NOT A SINGLE BEAT!

So, big up to iain - this session belongs to him for rhythmic contribution, invaluable musical control and feedback from mission control and for being a generally all round good egg!!

Oh, and my new Senheiser headphones were well and truly christened!

Nex time (soon) - THE BIRTH!

WAAAAAAHHHHH!!

Sons of bitches!!!

After 22 years of unblemished driving, I got caught by a bugger like this one on Friday 14th September in Dunfermline!

There I was, happily tootling down to Rosyth to fill up with petrol to get to the Killin gig and KABOOM! Caught! 42 in what I didn't know was still a 30....

I stick my hands up, fair cop, I did it - I'll pay... What bugs me is that (1) I've got some great friends in both Fife and Central Police - it's these sneaky money grabbing pricks in the hi-tec ice cream vans that piss me off, parking in obscured places and (2) Really pisses me off that I've now got a cheque to write which I didn't expect and points to carry on my licence (for 12 MPH) while those nob ends in BMW 5 series, Lexus etc., boy racers in mobile death traps seemingly get away with fucking ridiculous driving!

All in the name of local authorities making a few more bucks!