I came across a book with gig details in, and suddenly noticed that my memory of gigs wasn't as great as I thought. I mean, it's not like we did that many of them. I booked and planned loads of gigs, especially for Shadowplay/Jewel, but we didn't do as many as I'd have liked. A lot of the time it was because Paul and Andy had other things going on, such as work. That is something that I can now understand so much, because work gets in the way of my music, and that really grates at me.
When I said what songs me and Paul played at The Portland Arms for the first gig, I was so very wrong. We didn't actually play any of the songs I mentioned, and I don't know why I would have got it that wrong. We actually played Tears In Heaven, What Can I Do (our own song), and Stairway To Heaven (never liked doing that song, because always felt we couldn't do it justice). After that we took a break, and then came back on again later to do an instrumental piece I was working on, which at the time I called Variations (which became the song Hope once Jim Annison wrote lyrics and Paul came up with chorus music), and we also did Hendrix's Killing Floor. I only played guitar on Variations, and tambourine on the rest.
There were other mistakes I made in my memories as well. The Portland Arms acoustic nights were on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. Also, the songs I performed for my solo turn that time were different to how I remember. I didn't perform Eight Miles High, although I did learn it at the time because I love the song so much. I actually did Eleanor Rigby, Chasing A Dream (an original that only got played then), Things You Do (Jim's song reworked by me), Closer To The Heart (Rush), and What The Hell's Goin' On (my song again).
I bet you're thinking, he's making this blog up on the spot aren't you? Well, you're right, I thought I'd leave from the story of my life a little, well sort of... This is just me trying to blog whatever comes to mind on the spot and finding an opportune place to finish it off. Worked originally, and besides... Louise is asleep at the side of me on the settee today, and it is Valentine's Day, so should really be devoting every moment to her.
So, this looking back at the details has helped in some ways. It has also given me a time line in a way, because my knowledge of when things happened and that is legendary. That's why it takes me so long to do things, because I don't realise it has been so long. Shadowplay then started in 1994, with me and Paul doing our first gig, obviously as the picture above shows, on Tuesday July 19th. Friday December the 2nd was the first gig as a band with Tim on drums. That was a good slog of gigs then as well, where we played that gig, then Saturday 3rd at Groucho's (next door to the museum at that time), Sunday 4th at Stockwells, Wednesday 14th at Westfield Folkhouse, and Saturday the 17th at the Frog & Nightgown.
We never did another gig then with Tim, and I know for sure even now that he left the band around April of 1995. After that is interesting, because the next gig in the book is with Andy Mason on drums on Wednesday April 10th 1996 (I've got used to this attaching pictures thing now haven't I). That gig's set (if you can't read it above) included eight Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, Prince's Controversy, two Lenny Kravitz, Foxy Lady, Guns 'n' Roses, Rage Against The Machine (Bullet In The Head), Sunshine Of Your Love, and four originals. It was at the Westfield Folkhouse.
Then we played The Bowl In Hand on August 7th 1996 and Stockwells on August 18th. They are the only dates I have for Shadowplay gigs. I'm pretty sure we did more, but I must just have forgotten to take notes. I do know that they gigs were great with Andy, and we had some good times with Tim as well. I think we tried the female singer (Suzi) during a period between the two line-ups, I'm sure Paul could tell me if he reads this, and that it would have basically been her with us three as musicians.
The song titles we were working on with her though I am sure of. We were looking at doing songs by acts like Rose Royce, The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, Chic, and all that sort of thing. It would have been interesting for sure, and in some ways it's funny how things changed. There are always different aspects to bands that people probably never see. They never saw us in rehearsals just messing about doing So What by Miles Davis, or the songs that were never played live that were rehearsed, such as Killing In The Name Of, Naked by Reef, and other songs. We even looked at the idea of doing a cover of a Clownhouse or Quango song as well, which is something that's never been said. I loved the riffs in Saltwound by Quango, Andy Dawson is such an amazing guitarist, as I'm looking forward to hearing on the forthcoming reformation of Savage - a great and underrated band.
There were mistakes with the Cornerstone gig information as well, which also surprised me. That though is another interesting one. I'd written a song called Trying To Break Me, but the music was entirely different to how it ended up. While learning Sowing The Seeds Of Love, I suddenly started messing around and came up with the verse for what would become the music to Trying To Break Me. The song didn't actually fit with the whole Shadowplay/Jewel thing, but it did fit with another project I was working on - Cornerstone. During the one gig that Cornerstone did, we performed 14 songs, 12 of which were originals. Billie Jean was just something that me and Matt rehearsed and came up with a different arrangement for. We also intended to put a different arrangement of the Anita Baker song Sweet Love into future sets, but we never did play more than one gig.
Anyway, the Trying To Break Me thing... In some ways it sort of tells a good story in itself. There was music that me and Andy liked, but it didn't float Paul's boat so much, and so on for all of us really I suppose (though I've always been open-minded that way). Me and Andy loved and still love the music of Fishbone, and we were interested in doing songs like Sunless Saturday, End The Reign, and even the fantastic When Problems Arise. Matt from Cornerstone got me into the music of Keziah Jones, and I introduced Andy to it.
In truth, the music that a band plays is sort of the open ground where everyone of you meets. That is what gives the band it's style and feel. Without you, you go off on tangents, much like I do now with Project Marv where I do everything. That's not a bad thing in my opinion, I can think of bands that do well working that way, such as The Beatles and Queen. They are acts who where made up of members who were all open-minded and liked to try new things. They basically loved the thrill of discovering new music and getting inspired by it. All of the members of The Beatles have constantly talked about the fact that were "turned on by new things."
The bands I was in were helpful in a way, because if you think about it, although not everyone in a band contributes to the writing of a song, they contribute to it becoming one of their songs and to how it sounds in the end. They actually help so much with the selection of songs and some songs would just sound wrong. Again I'll mention The Beatles (sorry to those who don't like them), but some of the songs that they wrote for others just wouldn't have been the same if they'd have done them with The Beatles. The same goes for songs that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote for others, they wouldn't have worked with The Rolling Stones, and so many other people. Leo Sayer wrote for Roger Daltrey and others in the 70's.
Flipping heck, I've not half gone on here. And here was me thinking I'd have trouble. How wrong was I? It probably doesn't make too much sense really, but then this is rambling on isn't it.
Almost forgot... A friend has posted on Facebook that today being Valentine's Day isn't really different to any other day when it comes to feelings. He's right of course. I love Louise no matter what day it is, every single day. I've took time off to spend with her, but that could really be any time in the year. I'm taking advantage of it being Valentine's Day by spoiling her, but then I buy her gifts, flowers, and cards in fact all of the time. I buy her thank you cards to show my appreciation, and vice versa. Love isn't just for one day alone, but I'm still going to show how much I love her today :-)
Have a lovely day everybody.
Thank you for reading, I hope it wasn't too boring.
Marv - 14th February 2011 (40 years, 2 months, and 19 days old)
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