Diana Stones Blog

Its not easy keeping it all together at times. If I get engaged or excited enough to care about something I know its going to end in disappointment. Curiously as I have started getting over the physical health problems I have had the mental ones start lurking around the corner. Its a familiar cycle but I can control some aspects of it, (moderate it rather than eliminate it) if I catch the signs early enough. My nature is such that I need to feel in control though I understand that this is an illusion at best, but a comforting one. Tuesday was intended to be a recording session, but that went wrong and in the evening went to our usual local in St Albans to hear some music and see some mates. Wednesday was very interesting filming Vicky Martin interviewing Phil May for liveblues.info (Lead singer of 60′s group the Pretty things who are still at it today, but don’t look too much like the picture on their website anymore) talking about the Album Bilbao Island which is a surprisingly energetic album for a bunch of fairly ancient rockers. Got the usual photo opportunity so I have attached a pic (how sad am I) BTW Yes I am tall and he is short… We have a couple of band gigs on Friday and Saturday and another one next Wednesday up in Northampton which should be a good one. The we have one gig-free weekend and it gets fairly busy again.

This week has been a more of the same kind of week. One Band gig in Hitchin at a pub that has a regular blues night and a duo gig in a little Village called Flamstead at a very nice village pub which has quite a good restaurant.

Both gigs were pretty well received and a very modest amount of Ale was consumed. It still amaze’s me that I can chat to almost anyone when not so many years ago I was hopeless I talking to new people. Others tell me that I am very much more open and sociable these days. Well I do feel much more at ease but perhaps not quite as comfortable as others might think.

Particularly when we do the duo gigs you have to create a fairly intimate vibe to get the more subtle stuff across and we try and work a little humor but nothing too contrived I hope. Its seems to work and means folks tend to come back to see us again. A typical duo gig goes from old school Piano Boogie stuff to Rock & Roll country and bluegrass and a bit of swing and Jazz and maybe the odd torch song with a few diversions along the way. “My old Mans a dustman” often go’s rather well with almost any audience.

The band is a bit different as its not such a close connection with audience, but we do spend a lot of time chatting to folks in the break between sets. If only they knew what a miserable git I actually am LOL

I am still feeling the strain physically at the moment, but on gigs the endorphins tend to kick in so its the days after that tend to be the problem. We have bookings as far ahead as Christmas 2012 already.

My favorite gigs are the more intimate ones, even though you do end up staring in to the whites of peoples eyes! My back is still not up to attempting much accordion playing yet though, so that will have to remain on hold although there is a little bit on the new Elephant Shelf album.

I have also recorded a couple of Solo Piano works which are a bit obscure and about as far from Blues & Swing as possible and licensed some of my stuff for use on TV & film which might be useful in the longer term.

Elephant Shelf at Blues at The Farm January 2012 doing a couple of very well known tunes.

I have just about got over Christmas. We were back in the studio in Burnham on Crouch yesterday and I put some accordion on one of the more rootsy tracks, which seemed to work OK.So I shall be doing a bit more of that in future though Phil Cunningham will have nothing to fear from my occasional squeezing and wheezing, mind you Allie Bain has not much to fear from my fiddling either. Due to the ongoing back and ribs problem I can only do a limited amount of playing so my skills are not going to improve that quickly on it. We have about 15 tracks of which about 10 will end on the album I think. The cold is slowly relinquishing its grasp though I felt very tired last night.

We have two gigs this Saturday, one in Billericay in the afternoon at a club called Blues at the Farm as Elephant Shelf. Not the most flattering photo on the website but hey we are quite hale though rather aged and crusty I had never heard of Billericay before that Mr Drury mentioned in one of esteemed songs.

Then one in the evening in our Delta ladies incarnation in the wilds of Barnet at the pub where Elephant Shelf had one of its very first outings (before I joined believe it or not) called the Lord Nelson.

I have it on good authority that at some point this year we will hit the 1000 gigs mark as we have averaged around 140 gigs a year in our various incarnations (Elephant Shelf Jessie Pies Cleavage of Death and the Delta ladies) which I suppose is not bad going really.

Pre-final mix track from the new Elephant Shelf Album recorded at Saint FM studios produced by Pete Crisp who produced the recent Hokie Joint album – the song and the album demonstrates the band’s move to retro style and sound

We did a Christmas Eve Delta Ladies gig in at a small pub in Gravenhurst, and it went very well and we got this message;

“Ladies – I want to say a very BIG thank you for last nights performance. You were just outstanding and I am so pleased that you honored me with playing on Christmas Eve. This is my first attempt at a Christmas in the Green Dragon and you certainly exceeded my expectations. You got the customers joining in and the feedback I have had was ‘When are the girls returning?. I had a few customers come down late in the evening because a couple of the others had rung them and told them to come and watch your gig as it was a real performance worth watching and listening to. So all it leaves is for me to say Vicky , Di and Robbie of course, Have a wonderful Christmas and thank you again for the best evening I could have wished for. Hope to speak to you again very soon to book a few more dates. Lots of love, Tina and Zack xx -
”
Which I was rather chuffed with as Christmas Eve is often a rather thankless task, but this was fun.

4 gigs last week which means I can afford to buy some Christmas presents almost. Good fun but I felt it a bit physically with the problems I am having with my back and ribs at present.

http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Tietze%27s-Syndrome.htm

Anyone else had this? Its a real nusiance as its FFing painfull and sneaks up on you unexpectedly. Sometimes its caused by the aftermath of a chest infection or sometimes just by over straining something.

Now we are not out giging till Christmas Eve though I have quite a few things to sort out this week.When you get use to being busy its odd having a bit of time to spare really though I will be using it to practice, but trying to remember not to over do it of course.

3 gigs this weekend one on Thursday at Cafe Rouge in Highgate that was mellow but good fun and we have been invited back in January if all go’s well. One up near Baldock which didn’t go quite so well as they normally have 80′s cover bands so a very retro duo was not quite up their street.

On Saturday night we were at one of our favorites, the Belle Vue in High Wycombe with full band. It was a very lively night and good fun.

The live sound of the band has mellowed somewhat though its actually more energetic, and we had some very complimentary comments from the punters who are mad enough to comeback each time we are there, and so must be real gluttons for punishment. It was pretty much a party atmosphere as everyones really getting into the mood for Christmas and the band was in a somewhat joccular mood too

I record most gigs on a small pocket recorder to get a real ldea of what we sound like, thats very revealing too, sometimes when you listen back its good news and sometimes its awfull! Last nights was mostly pretty good. We put audio clips from the live stuff on the website now. We used to do a lot of video, but its impractical in a lot of places, though we should really get some new stuff done for publicity purposes.

I haven’t been working on writing solo stuff  though as I have been doing a lot of studying and practice and I have felt rather uninspired. Some stuff just never seems to sink in. Also I am not a big fan of Christmas though as a child I really enjoyed it a lot. New Years Eve is always a good feeling though and I try to look back at the good things that have happened though the year.

Out on 3 gigs, two with the Elephant Shelf and one with Deltas. All pub gigs but good fun especially when you have a good audience to play off. Its nice to get back into it all again. Its also nice not having to travel too far as well. On sunday we met a new at our gig friend who is a magician with a mad sense of humour rather like ours and had just been doing a show and brought his dad along as well. I don’t think he is a real magician though as the last lottery numbers he gave me didnt win

Yesterday my sister came down to visit from Colne and we spent most of the time chating which was pleasant enough. She is not in the best of health having developed diabetes and high blood pressure. I was recently checked for this and am OK at the moment fingers crossed.

I also was working on learning some Ray Charles and Dr John tunes as I have found some quite good transcriptions. Its frustrating when your hands don’t go to quite the right place though. after about 4 years of titanic struggle

I am finally getting to be able to sight read more complex music a bit. The trouble is having played by ear for the past 30 years its a difficult thing to do as you tend to play what you think you hear rather than what is written. Of course the music has an improvised content as well, but actualy getting down a tasty Ray Charles move or two is another thing altogether. Jazz and blues.boogie stuff written down is often very inaccurate or shorthand at best so for my befuddled brain its a bit of a workout.

Also last night I watched a recorded documentary about Prince. Hes got a lot of talent, but his songs don’t really do it for me.
Personal taste I suppose.

Work up in the middle of the night aching quite a bit and to get relief requires me to lay on my back, so a bit over tired and irritable today. I will go off for a rehersal later this afternoon which will get me in a better mood hopefully. I must remeber to do my streching excerises too as they do help a lot and not to spend too much time at the computer as that tends to make things worse.

Its interesting listening the rants about over paid over pensioned public service workers, which always come from the same sources and unfairness or otherwise.
The interesting thing is of course that two of said ranters of my aquantance are ex-coppers and so will have some sort of gov pension at some point?

I worked in the private sector for 17 years and as a civil servant for 13 years. Yes its very different and was in my case possibly a life saver making the move. I also saw a lot of how the other half lived.

Our society such as it is becoming more divided and many more doors are shut for both young and old and there is no more room at the inn.

Its been a slightly different start to the month.

On Monday we recorded a Jazz album (9 tracks) and this is specifically for getting work, but a little different for me as everything was live including the vocals, though my voice held out OK, so its down to mixing it now. I am quite pleased with the rough mixes.

I am still feeling pretty rough at times as the bones are creaking and aching a lot, but I am assured that this is all part of the repair process and that apart from excercise and pain killers its just a matter of working through the process, though real ale is very effective in taking the edge off it(it is a muscle relaxant after all ). Its been depressing at times though, without a doubt.

One unexpected side effect that I have started excercises which should help with my posture. I have a life long spine problem,(basically a small hump) and the workout seems to to be helping with some of the postural issues I have. One of the worst things is that I can’t lift anything too heavy, but I have got a trolley for moving gear around which I should have got a while back but the old one broke and I didn’t replace it which was a bad move. I need a bit more advice as I may need a back brace of some sort, but I have been waiting for my ribs to fix first.

We did a support slot on Saturday night in Reading for Larry Miller at Reading Arts Center, quite a contrast from just the two of us in our extremely roots incarnation of the Deltas, but it went OK  phew. Larry is great, but very, very LOUD!

We are back in Reading in a couple of weeks at a little place called the Retreat which strangely enough has a very good selection of real ales. At this point you may be detecting a theme. Actually I am not a huge drinker, usually 2 pints max on an evening out. Rarely I will have a pint at home but mostly not. Next week we should be back in the studio to do more work on the band (elephant Shelf) album, which is nearly cooked now, and we have a couple of localish gigs at the end of the week which should be fun.

I had a good night out on Friday and I should be feeling chilled and relaxed, but I am totally wound up and very jumpy.
Its like I have my own personal demon just throwing me often balance when I think I have got it all together.
Whats it like not to jump at your own shadow?  I wish I knew and I wish someone else could actually know what it is I am talking about, but it will make no sense to them.  I do feel that as the days go by I am losing it more and more day by day.
Whats lurking in the shadows? I don’t know, but I feel like there is something chasing me…

I had a fun gig last night (Sat 15th October) at the Mermaid which is a bareboards ale house in St Albans that has always been an enjoyable gig for us and I finally felt back on form again. I was begining to wonder a little. We were not in the slightest bit subtle last night as the place was very crowded and we had a very noisy but appreciative crowd so we put ‘My old mans a dustman’ in the set, but no Cole Porter though quite a lot of Rock and Roll Piano. We had a guest player last night too. A guy called Ramone who really is from Barcelona, and yes he has seen Faulty Towers and totaly gets the joke. Hes a very good harmonica player and warmed up the vibe nicely. Its nights like that that make you realise why you do it, I mean getting paid to party, you can’t really beat that can you The violin was well received last night too. The back and related stuff is easing slowly and I am feeling a bit stronger, plus I am not half-asleep all the time.

Got to go back to the studio for the ES Album this week, though we are getting quite near the final thing now

Also did a good gig at Cambridge Folk Club ( takes place at the  Golden Hind 335 Milton  rd cb4 1sp), a 40 min support slot to Chris Sherburn and Danny Bartley, to promote our Delta Ladies full gig there in February 2012.

I am still feeling quite rough at the moment, my body seems to be doing its best to repair itself, but I having some very rough days. Today seems to be one of them though and my mood is not good. The meds that I have to fix the problem also make me feel a bit ill on the days that I take them, but the good thing is that I now know what is wrong having had an array of symptoms including cronic pain and exaustion and that there is a fix for it, but it will take a while. The annoying thing is that I had written off a lot of my symptoms as depression or anxiety and then to find out there was a definate and very specific reason why I was waking up completly exausted everyday was a real shock as I thought it was just me being lazy and neurotic

Musically we are in a quiet period with the band excetera with only 5 gigs this month, but thats actually a help as its giving me a chance to build my strength up, but I would like to be busier and feel a bit more up for it.

I finally got my main violin fixed, so that at least is good health and a new stage piano which made its debute at the New Inn Witney on the first of October and seems to do the job OK, though I could have done without the expense. So at least the first gig of the month was a good one. Nothing this weekend though, but we have been in the studio a lot recently so thats not a bad thing at all, in my somewhat depleted state.

I managed to put together a 1000 words for Transliving mag about Elephant Shelf though I am not sure how interesting that will be to most readers of a transmag as its all very normal stuff. We are really just another struggling band and the TG aspect is a very small % of it. We compete on the same basis as everybody else re gigs and so forth. We do have a bit of a once seen never forgotten aspect though and we are a bit like Marmite in that people seem to either love us or hate us

There are a few annecdotes that I managed to dig up that may make it seem slightly more colourful, but apart from the bit where your are actually on stage its mostly hard work and so much driving as most of our gigs are well outside London.

Still if it all keeps together, we should be back to France and hopefull on to Spain, Italy and Holland for 2012 in various incarnations of the Shelf and Delta Ladies. Driving is often a lot more pleasant though outside the UK IMHO.

Earlier in this year (2011) I recorded this. Its a sort of contemporary Classical Style Piano work.
I have a few works like this and I would like to do a proper performance to video if I can arrange it.

A very bad start to September  as I have managed to miss 2 gigs due to health problems. I have injured myself somehow and been stuck flat on my back, so I missed Elephant Shelfs gig at Plumpton Blues Festival which I was very much looking forward to. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that its nothing too serious in the longer term.

Its nearly September and the year has flown by. My Ancient chariot needs to get an MOT (15 years old but only done just over 100k) and I think so do I as I have had a lot of aches and pains post gig recently. A trip to the docs is indicated me thinks. So far so good as we had a really good gig at the Cambridge Rock festival recently that should have upped our cred a bit. We also have a local london festival appearence tommorow at Abbey Fest at the Colour House Theatre on Bank Holiday Monday. We were up in Nottingham at the Trent Navigation as our duo which went well to a mixed crowd of the local blues club folks and rugby supporters so we will be back there in the not too distant future we hope. We also had recent gigs in Lincoln and a few other places. We have one more festival gig in September which is the Plumpton Beer and Blues Festival near Lewes in Sussex which could be good for us apart from the normal ongoing stuff. We are still waiting on the the rough mixes of the new Elephant Shelf Album to come through,as we we will be down in the studio again to do a bit of over dubbing as soon. We have also started recording a Delta Ladies Album and have a couple of rough tracks down for that which sound promising. I have also still got a rather iritating cough which has now eased of enough for me to get my full voice back on gigs but which nearly left me mute for the Cambridge Rock festival but I got me mojo working sufficiently for that thank goodness.