Bobbing Along Through Stormy Seas!

Let’s get the downers out of the way first. A shaky start to the year for sure. Losing David Johansen and Brian James in the space of a week was tough. The Dolls, The Damned, The Lords of the New Church; such guttural, unholy racketeers. Beat preaching brothers who guided us through our own embryonic clattering and howling, bright lights in dark tunnels – when I say I’m in love you best believe I’m in love, L.U.V.

I feel blessed that we managed to see The New York Dolls whilst there were still three remaining original members, when they reformed for the Meltdown Festival at the invitation of that year's curator Morrissey. Wild, funny, beautiful and utterly essential trash! I saw The Lords of the New Church a few times too back in the day, and Brian was always a super-cool gunslinger, louche and lovable.

I had my gig bag stolen a few weeks back. This would be bad enough on its own – around £700’s worth of gear – but to happen in one of my favourite little bohemian corners of the globe, that’s what stings. Biddle Bros – yards from my place of birth, hipsville on the Lower Clapton Road. I guess these things can happen anywhere and it won’t taint my love for the place in the long-term. The Met are going to check out the CCTV, but I hold little hope for recovery – hey ho. Apart from that incident it was cool to play a night with our dear compadres Brigade Junk and Narcotic Hearts as well as to meet new friend and fellow troubadour Jawar – cool dude!

I have been made redundant, along with my fellow Arts Team co-conspirator Chris. I’ll dig deeper in to this another time – it’s still too raw. It’s obviously not great to be cast adrift in an open boat (with no oars and a leaky hull), especially as a sweet and tender third-ager, but it’s the bigger picture that galls the most. Chris and I will attempt to continue to some extent (probably as a CIC), but once we are gone, our mission to include all in the cultural narrative of the St Albans District will be lost forever. Over our nineteen and a half years as a team we have, without doubt, brought diverse communities together and given voice to under-represented groups all over the district whilst supporting and showcasing thousands of aspiring creatives, young and old. This stuff is important, not only for mental health and wellbeing, but for challenging prejudice, creating a more cohesive, kind and understanding society – all those things that feel more important than ever right now.

I’ll have to look at other ways of augmenting my income. I have a few ideas, and if they work out, perhaps this time next year I’ll be expounding on the benefits of this unfettered life!

Rico and I are off on another musical jaunt to Spain, this time venturing further west, to Oviedo and Bilbao. Troubadours on the road, plying our folk-punk-blues to cool folk in far flung towns - vino tinto, balmy evenings and feral cats – I can’t wait – it’s probably what I need right now.

I released a solo single this month via the wonderful Musical Nomads label. This is the new venture of our dear friend Hansi, who is looking to release tracks from solo singer-songwriters from around the globe. My little offering is a new song called The Prognosis, available on all major streaming platforms. It’s written from the perspective of being in that situation where one’s mortality is brought in to stark focus – kind of a post-cancer love song – have a listen, hope you like it!

Stay Kind, Stay Creative!

Grae J.

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