Sarah’s Christmas Collection – audio book (by sarah)

I have spent the last week sorting out this audio book / album - it contains The Little Book of Festive Poetry, a story about a mouse and Jean and Christmas during the flood era and a song. You can listen to it free on my Salaric Bandcamp.

Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to embed it at the moment and also Bandcamp have decided to make the song the main thing so it always starts with it - this is what they've put into there home page and stuff but I can't currently unselect it. So to actually listen to the thing from the beginning you have to either download it for £3 (all profits are going to buy books for Jean's school library) or you click the back button to get to the first track. A bit annoying I know and I'm sorry about that but thought you would all like to hear it rather than me continue to faff ad infinitum.

It’s Christmas Time! (by sarah)

Well ok not quiet yet but with two weddings to attend and the presents only half knitted I need to think Christmassy. Also I wanted to try and get all the hard graft for The Little Book of Festive Poetry sorted. I was going to leave the audio version until next year but I've built momentum on the project now and Jean loves it so much... and with the weekend disappointment I need to keep it going or I think I would just give it up.

So this morning I composed a song whilst baby snuggling and recorded whilst she napped. Here it is 🙂

The Little Books are going out there into the void of the internet and as physical objects to share but the reason they exist at all is for Jean and latter Mary once she appeared. I need to finish recording the poems, edit the story and record that and add some slay bells and then the album will be ready 🙂 I may even have a little looky at producing some merchandise for it via the bandcamp site (I think they do a POD type thing and my Cafe Press Shop).

The Little Books are covered more on Orange Monster which is my Childrens books and Illustrations blog.

The Little Book of Festive Poetry (by sarah)

So I am taking along copies of The Little Book of Festive Poetry to the Cranham Craft Fayre tomorrow! I will sign them if asked and profit goes to buy the school new books for their library. Its on from 10 - 4 and I will also have copies of Running to Stand Still an audio play by Barnaby Eaton-Jones to raise money for ME research and awareness.

There will also be my poetry cards and some prints of my art work.

Finding My Voice (by sarah)

Via Centre Arts I met a lovely lady called Jenna Monroe who is a fantastic singer. I had wanted to do a workshop she was running but it was canceled so I have been on the look out for anything else she does. I can't afford singing lessons at the moment but one off workshops are just about doable especially as I still had the money left from the first attempt.

The actual workshop was Vocal and Physical Improvisation with Jenna doing the vocal part and a man called Adam Fotheringham doing the physical part. I found the physical bit a tad taxing and had to sit out for large chunks which was a shame as I didn't get to 'let go' of inhibitions and things in the same way as alot of the others could. I dare not jump with my pelvis still though I managed a lot and took part in all the 'acting' type exercises.

It was a lot more New Agey than I was expecting but that was good in some ways as it helped relax me into stuff which of course is the point of it. I have come away with some wonderful ideas for poems and stories and pictures to render. For me the best bit was an exercise were we all started off singing one thing and then other bits were added and we just sort of had to decide what we wanted to sing. I struggled with this right up until she told us to close our eyes, suddenly singing was easy, suddenly the sounds were there as ribbons around me and I could see where my ribbon, my voice needed to be woven into the pattern (metaphor obviously). It was the same a singing to the girls, there was nothing other than the sound and the hum and the harmonics of the voices mingling and mixing.

When we had finished this exercise I felt really serene and happy to take part in the rest of the activities. I had been very nervous about going to it to be honest. Later on there was another vocal exercise where we lay on the floor and then took it in turns to wander around the room singing. There was some real tribal, old, folky stuff coming out and then I got up and sang the first thing that came into my head and as I was confronted by a dark room with people laying down I just automatically started singing the Lullaby I made up for Jeany and that me and Al sing to the girls still.

I felt I learnt a lot and it was a fun afternoon, the activities when on a bit too long for my staying in one postition pain threshold but it was worth it 🙂

As I was singing the sun was setting and the sky was lavender and pink tinged, the light coming into the room had been amazing all day with trees autumn leaves fluttering down, first in sunlight, then in winter cloud glow and then through a condensation haze that settled on the windows like snow flurries. I eat cake and drank tea and at the end before the lights were switched on I took a photo of the candle that had been the only light as the sun set - I just thought it looked excellent and yes my head was very Bill and Ted when I emerged.

Being nervous and sky these sorts of workshops are invaluable to me. I am finding myself increasingly on stage and though two years ago if I went to read I was the best stage presence (not the same as the best poet!). I am now going to event where I am the worst performer (not the same as worst poet! Not that I really feel poetry can be gaged like that) and I have always wanted to sing on stage. I miss singing in Choirs and Musical Theatre Society etc...

I really enjoyed it plus I discovered there is a cute dinky little hall hidden away in Painswick.

Gotye Hammersmith Apollo (by sarah)

So we finally went to see Wally perform - we ended up being scooped in with the VIPs and what have you mainly due to my stick and the fact that I'd over done it at the Tate Modern so could hardly move and was shaking! I took loads of photos and video of the gig most of which is no good as the light levels were so low and we were so far away - I am placing my blurry gig photos on the blog anyway as it is mine and Al's external memory 🙂 Considering my little happy snappy camera and the fact I was sat in the circle I am actually really happy at the photos I got.

String bean physic and a penchant for electronics - it really was like watching some relative of Alaric's on stage.

We found Gotye because people said he was like Alaric to look at 🙂

Alaric I think has kept his hair short after having been repeatedly mistaken at festivals this summer as The Gotye Impersonator 😉

Alaric was excited to discover Jonti at the concert and happy to hear Gotye who it had turned out we did own music off but had him squirreled away in Al's electronica stuff.

I did alot of experimenting with the light settings and stuff on the camera and think considering how far away I was and the light levels some of these really aren't that bad.

It is beyond me why people feel they have to spend the whole concert getting up and down from their seats - I started to get murderous over it! Especially if it was when I was trying to video or take a photo.

I loved the visuals and am constructing some short stories based on their inspiration!

They confiscated my bottle of drink at the beginning when we went in but Alaric bought me a glass of diet coke.

Alaric commented that he thought Gotye looked more like our friend Richard than himself. I just smiled and said that the official vid of Easy Way Out is like a merger of him and Richard.

There was a plinky plonky instrument that I itched to have a go on and part of me was thinking - you know I have my laptop but no microphone on me damn!

We tried taking pics putting the monocular on the camera but we just could not reduce the shake enough.

Alaric's comment about one of the songs was 'that reminds me of our hammond organ' to which I responded 'I think he sampled some of it from one'. We almost bought a T-shirt but were running low on budget.

Have I mentions the weird blowy instrument he appeared to be using? Not sure what it was or even if it was a wind instrument and I didn't get to see it properlly as it was gone by the time I wrestled the monocular off of Al.

The voice synth was halarious he really played it up!

This was mine and Alaric's first concert - I've stewarded events and works at events and performed at events but that whole audience thingy? Never really done it. Mainly due to the crowd and sitting down issue. I got these tickets as there were seated ones.

I do like my pics of pretty lights 🙂

Eyes Wide Open is my favorite song and one that I think the Green Unconference should have as a theme tune 🙂

The live visuals did differ alot in some cases and only a bit in others from the official musical vids.

This one I've kept just because I think it looks arty - it's called Ghost of Gotye.

I wonder if a better camera would have gotten me better pictures or if it is just my lack of skill!?

I loved the way all the musicians lined up and sort of bobbed their way through this one 🙂

There was only one song that I would have liked to have heard missed - everything else was covered.

This song Don't Worry We'll Be Watching You freaks me out slightly!

Some of the tunes are so haunting.

I was wondering about the sort of procussion rings that he was using - what are they?

It was quiet cool the way he would announce so and so on the synthasised/sampled sax and things like that. The thing is it does take skill to put this type of stuff together for a live show.

He is an amazing drummer - I would have loved to get hold of one of his drum sticks.

The band were so slick that it was only when a bit of sound engineering went wrong that it differed from the recordings really - this was amazingly good to the point I started to suspect mimining until he accidently mucked up the acoustic as the Apollos more of a theatre.

The moods of the different songs were caught via the lighting - the crew should be very proud of themselves.

One of the songs Gotye had the responsibility of a little tiny cymbal - it was so funny the way he emphasised this 🙂

Wally's little whitasisms thought out made us smile.

I took quiet a bit of video of the gig but it is for a holiday vid of mine and Alaric's break rather than concert specific.

Bronte is Jean's favorite Gotye track though she finds it too sad as the girl doesn't get to say goodbye to her friends - I personally wonder if there is a more sinister ending.

Lots of people left as soon as the band walked off - this was in my opinion a rookie error - and I was right.

We thought for a bit there that Ozzy's might not do oncors but they came back out and I have to find the name of the guitarist (I know he said it but I forgot it!)

The energy of the concert was fantastic mainly due to the musicians habit of noodling around on stage from one instrument to another. Wally/Gotye being the most noodly.

It was an amazing evening were I ruined Alaric's Christmas surprise by getting myself a signed copy of Making Mirrors!

Alaric thanked me for organising it at the end and agreed we should catch concerts in the future - we would love to go to Australia to visit my family at some point - it would be brilliant if we could see him on his home turf at the same time but that sort of trip is way out of budget at the moment.