Diana Stones Blog

Still got the cold but its drying up a bit now, thank goodness. Spent a very lazy day yesterday. Up very late and then a bit of piano practice and wasting time on Facebook and so forth. A bit of very silly stuff on the box as well so not too bad a day on balance.

I had a tap on the door (I know most peoples are in the bathroom! ) and it turned out to be a couple of guys from the local church, I most lean off the bluesy Gospel stuff on the piano or the neighbors might get the wrong idea.They left me with a nice book about Abraham and wished me a happy new year so that’s alright…

I need to go out later today and brave the elements for a while and may make the trip to my usual watering-hole in St Albans the White Lion later on where rumour has it that the Frantastics may be playing.

A fairly normal day. Went for a Band rehearsal and murdered some Duke Ellington and Gershwin and did some fairly Jazz flavored blues stuff too. Actually it was not too bad and will be starting to work its way onto Delta Ladies gigs as this sort of stuff seems to go quite well. I suppose its a bit different from Blur covers!

Fairly knackered after the rehearsal I must admit though. Gave the thumbs up to a promotional video for a track from the forthcoming Elephant Shelf Album which Vicky Martin has put together from still images.

Then off to St Albans for a drink at the White Lion which is a bit of a Tuesday night habit. Had some surprising and slightly unsettling news when I got there which I may write about in a week or so.

I spent most of the night wide awake though as if charged with adrenaline which is not at all like me and may be the effects of the meds I am taking. After months of exhaustion and lack of drive its a bit of a shock to the system so I don’t know if its good or bad frankly. I should be working on a new composition but I can’t keep my mind on just one thing at a time right now.

Tomorrow should be a half-day in the studio for the last 2 tracks for the new Elephant Shelf album which feels like its taken for ever, but actually hasn’t really. Will there be jumbo kit-kats on offer at the local supermarket still?

I seem to have got very wound up today, for no logical reason that I can think off. The trouble is I can’t put energy in to anything useful as my concentration span has shrunk to zero. Its a bit like waiting for a storm to pass in one sense really, you just have to let it blow over I guess.

Yesterday I had a jazz rehersal for our other,other musical outlet and it went quite well, thoughs it a bit different from most of the other stuff as there are dots to be read. All being well in a month or two we will launch our new venture on an as yet unsuspecting world!

I am not looking forward to Chistmas much as I always get overwrought and wound up about stuff, I have always found it to be a very uncomfortable time of year and tend to feel ill at ease. I also tend to get very morbid at this time of year too. HO HO Humn Bah Humbug and stuff. The Christmas decorations in the Kings Road are quite jolly though. Its not bad for window shoping thoughs that really all I do these days.

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.

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.

I am starting to get back into the more usual routine of gigs now. It varies from slightly chavey pubs (though often with very nice salt of the earth types) to proper music venues so the vibe is quite different although the shows the same. We had a couple of good gigs this weekend, and the one on Saturday night was a real work out in every sense, but my stamina is returning. If I can remember to discipline myself to keep doing my exercises that will help a lot too.

My back is not up to getting serious with the accordion yet, but I do need that for the folksy stuff we are starting to do, perhaps in another month or so I will be able to get stuck in a bit.

My sleep patterns have completly changed now as I seem to sleep for exactly 6 hours no matter what, after having been permanently tired for about a year or so. My abilty to concentrait on stuff is much improved too and the pain has eased off quite a bit.My temper has not improved much though unfortunately.

Long term prospects with the music seem to be slightly better gigwise but not quite enough for financial stabilty yet. We have got some good stuff coming up though including Cambridge Folk Club for for the Deltas that should improve our employabilty though. If we can average 12 gigs a month that would get us about right, we doing between 5 to 8 at the moment, so its not a huge leap in the amount of stuff we do really.

I also need to try and get a bit of IT work again to help out with the cash flow which could tip the balance, its very competitive though of course, and I ‘m not. I am still 10 years of the state pension age so I need to be doing something to boost my income that won’t tip me back in to mental health problems.

There is still quite an issue about this, and it seems to me that regardless of legislation, its mostly lip service thats paid rather than actually following guidelines. I commented on a thread recently that I thought it may be easier to get employment if you have just transitioned than if you have had mental health issues as it is still the case that people regard depression as laziness and then there are all those really scary ones like schizophrenia (which is often conflated with bi-polar by folks that don’t know) though some symptoms are similar.

I had musician friend who was schizophrenic who I have now lost touch with who was mostly harmless, and I wonder from time to time how he is getting on. We spent quite a lot of time working on music together a few years back…

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.

Its been a bit of a crap month really. My back injury seems to be mending and I have been out playing gigs again though I am really feeling it.

I discovered that I have something caused by vitimin D deficency that has caused my bones to soften which explains a lot of the pain mysterious pains I have been getting over the last few months and also the lack of concentration and extreme tiredness which I put down to depression at the time but which seems not to be the case. It will take a while to fix but thats OK now I know what it is. Got all my bloods checked and everthing elses came out OK, which is good as my siblings have Thyroid problems and diabetes.

Then just to put the tin lid on it the main keyboard I use on stage packed up mostly due to being bounced around in the back of vans and stuff for 7 years or so. I have  bitten the bullet and ordered a new one as it was about time to make a change particularly as my playing style has changed so much now. On a gig last night my violins tail piece broke so we couldn’t do a lot of our normal set with the Deltas. Perhaps October will be better. Add in a string of car problems as well just to add spice to the mix. So lots of extra expense and less money coming in because of not being able to work.

The curious thing is most of the folks in the band seem to have had problems this month too. Spooky that.

Good things though are that the new Elephant Shelf album is shaping up very well indeed and also the new Delta Ladies Album that we have started. I have just recorded another over the top Piano piece which I have had quite good feedback about inpspired by my general pissed-offness though I recorded it before my back had quite recovered enough and was in agonys the day after. Nothing like a bit of suffering for your art and all that don’t you know.

I have a 1000 word article I am suposed to write this week about the History of Elephant Shelf and I havn’t started on that yet so I need to pull my finger out as well…

I have just started going through my back catalogue of songs and listening through the recordings from 1998 with a view to possibly putting the good stuff on the web(if there is any of course ). Its all a bit prog rocky on the whole! At the time I was also a fair amount of anti-depressants too which judging by what I have listened too so far gives a distinct stoner feel too. There may be a few little gems in there though, with a bit of re-mastering and fiddling about.

Filmed an interview with Dennis Greaves of 9 below zero which should be on the web soon.
Checkout www.liveblues.info and the youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/ukmusiccity for some interesting stuff we think.

Yesterday I got a Piano Accordion, which is an instrument that’s new to me, primarily for using on the rootsy stuff I play in the Delta Ladies, and I think its going to work well for me, though it is a bit physical as you have to get used to a lot of rhythmic pumping, but that may well turn out to be a useful skill at some time.  I am quite pleased as I can just about squeeze out an almost recognisable but slightly wheezy version of the Dixon of Dock Green theme, so be afraid, be very afraid.

Only one gig this weekend at “The Farmers Boy” in St Albans which really will be totally unplugged. It wil be very informal and should be fun. Then back in the Studio on Monday for Day 3 and 4 of the Elephant Shelf Album session. In between a bit of work on various websites, so enough to keep me occupied. A gig in Reading on Thursday night at the “Retreat”, then Saturday at “The Mermaid” in St Albans then on Sunday a Private do in Holton Le Moor in Lincolnshire!

This is amazing and wonderfull ….
just hope I don’t get on the list..

http://www.worldsworstrecords.blogspot.com/

Got to love this

Well whats happening then. My Car has had a few bits wear out so its in the shop as the USA folks say, but hopefully it will back with me soon We have had a couple of really good gigs with the Delta Ladies & Elephant Shelf recently and we have finaly got around to sorting out our recording dates for the new ES album down in Burnham-on-Crouch and we also managed to catch Ian Segal doing an acoustic live broadcast for St FM which I have to say was rather good and a bonus though Burnham-on -Crouch is always worth a visit  but it was very cold and damp looking on our last visit. I quite fancy living down that way, so who knows it could happen

I had a go at a bit of photo shoping  so here is an idealised version of me. Well why not or perhaps the Black and white version available soon. I am also having a bit of a fight with video editing software too, which works but is not quite what I need to match up sound tracks as it has no way to nudge the sound tracks which I can do fine in adobe do da but it is not able to handle HDVC in its native format. I also need a faster computer but I want to make the right choice. As in not too expensive!

Diana Stone idealised 1

I have been clearing out loads of old papers, you know the sort of thing. Electricity bills from 6 years ago, or credit card staments and that sort of stuff. I shred most of it and it goes in to our rather efficent recycling system that we have in Battersea for the last few years. On thing which I kept was a notice of the first domain name that I registered and that was way back in 1997. I first built a one page website in 1996 which came as a shock as I had not realised how long I have been using this internet thingy.
Almost makes you feel nostaligic for the days of 33k modems(unless your out in the countryside using dial-up as one or two poor souls still are). I also just hooved the inside of my number 1 PC as they are very efficient dust magnets and it makes the fans work very hard, this one has 3 pumping away and it must be about 6 years old now. I have still got my first decent spec pc which is about 10 years old and on a new power supply, runing linux dual boot with windows 98 me.
I have lots of notebooks with old song lyrics and bits of tunes, some of which got recorded and some which never actualy got to see the light of day as well, just so much stuff. No wonder the flat is feeling a little crowded. I used to write songs with people all over the place getting them to send me lyrics by snail mail and then eventually sending a cassette back. The pace of life seemd a lot slower then, so was it more fun or less? the fact that everything is instant or nearly so to me seems to have taken soem of the colour out of life, as we seem to need more and more stimulation.
On with the tidy-up operation now before its either the end of the world or time to watch Dr Who.

Ok its May and nothing much is any different, though the suns out and shining for a change. I have written a couple of slight obscure pieces of music and thats about its really. A couple of ES and Delta Ladies gigs to start the month, that went reasonably well, and I have mislaid my Camera. I think I have hidden it somewhere in the flat but I can’t for the life of me think where. So not wildly exciting, but  thats sort of the way I like, peaceful and slightly dull
I look to friends for the exciting stuff at  the moment.

I have felt a bit odd recently and have been visted with a few panic attacks after not having them for a few years. As some of you may know they tend to manifest when you are realy relaxed rather than under stress. Usually what sets them off is hyper-ventilation so ther eare ways to try and control that of course, but its really quite frustrating as I thoght that they were athing of the past. When I was younger I used to wake in the middle of the night with them and very unpleasant it was too. I am just hoping I can get these under control again rather than have to go and get some meds for it.

Its been not a bad month apart from that with a few fun gigs and also the news that Elephant Shelf will be playing on stage 2 at the Cambridge Rock Festival this August and we also have some other festival dates for this year, so thats got to be good.

Well its been a funny old year so far, I have to say. It got off to quite a shaky start one way and another but I am feeling a bit more positive about stuff now. Hooray. I have been doing a lot of musical woodshedding particularly on the Piano to delve in to pastures new, but I have been avoiding writing anything new for the moment as I am some what direction less musically right now.
We have had quite a few well received Delta Ladies and Elephant Shelf gigs so far which is very gratifying too. Money wise there is just about enough on tick over to keep rolling too for the moment but long term solutions are still needed. What these are remains to be seen! It often seems the case that what ever I get involved its one step forward and two back again. I still don’t react well under stress so I try to organize my life to avoid unnecessary tension. It doesn’t take to much to set me off even at the best of times, but I don’t want to medicate myself out of consciousness either. I have a good bunch of supportive friends but they are also people that I work with so again life can get a little awkward. One of the big problems is that I need space to do my own thing with out distraction, but I can get quite morose when left on my own. I do have to be a little careful as if I get two excited or enthusiastic if can often swing into mania eventually. Thats quite difficult to explain to people as they don’t really know what mania is.
Both my parents suffered from extremes of mood, so its not that surprising that I seem to be similarly afflicted. The worst aspect of this is that there are times when I can’t concentrate on anything which makes me worst than useless. I seem to have been getting towards that state recently rather too often lately.

I am sure that many of us feel that with that little extra push, if maybe we were not so lazy that we could achieve our own personal holy grail. Theres no doubt that you don’t get something for nothing in most walks of life, but when do you just walk away and say no couldn’t quite hack it so I am giving up? Things are moving on personally for me but I still feel a long way from home, and perhaps what I should be looking for simplification in my life. Every corner that I turn I feel just as far away from my goal, its always somewhere over the horizon. Perhaps thats the way it is supposed to be but I am not sure.  If your having fun then keep on trying but if its no fun any more well then what?  The more progress I make, the less I think I have learned in truth.  Perhaps I am just getting fed up with looking to the next hill and I should pitch my tent right here.

Here is not a bad place to be sometimes…