Well
2014 was a mixed year to say the least. In Spring, a few health
problems put me out of action (and onto crutches in one incidence)
for several weeks. I attended two funerals of good friends who had influenced me musically. One was Rod Felton, whose delivery, song writing and guitar playing I admired. And we said farewell also to a second ex-Parrot. Graham Caldicott, who sang with us, and co-wrote "Vacuum Cleaner", and old Parrot favourites like "Ordinary."
Creatively and musically, I felt that as a band we
had made real progress, with some of the best live performances ever done collectively. Particularly effective as a five piece and bolstered by the talents of Malc Gurnham and Dave Parr, we made our debut at
Banbury Folk Festival, there was talk of a new C.D. and Nuneaton Folk
Club exceeded all expectations as it launched in October. Then at the
end of the year, the whole House of Cards inexplicably collapsed. The
band folded, and we lost the two gigs I was most looking forward to: Bedworth Folk Festival and The Church End/ Atherstone Folk Club Christmas Party. This was not the first second or third time that the band had imploded. But because of the pain caused,
it has to be the last.
2015
So there is now no Black Parrot Seaside,
and there won't be again. Some of the songs will live on however,
both the covers and originals. I will not stop performing, and
I intend to go out Solo as Mac Awe on Tour in the New Year. I hope to continue working as part of “Nunc” and I already have some solo
spots lined up for 2015. Probably concentrating more on Comedy and
Novelty songs, but if people want me to continue doing Blues and
Folk-then I will. It looks highly likely that I will be returning to
theatre again, as I have written something that a couple of local
institutions are very interested in. Watch this space for news of at least
one public production project in the coming 12 months.
Since the dust has settled, a few
kind souls have indicated an interest in working with me on
collaborations. If you were one of them-be it song-writing or
performance or both-then I will be contacting you shortly, (with no
strings attached), to see if you are still interested in working on
something-anything-together. Or if you prefer, don't be shy, get in
touch. P.M. me via email or Facebook and say what you'd like to try,
creatively. And if you or your band is ever short of a singer-don't
be afraid to ask. I'd leap at that kind of opportunity!
