I’ve been making conceptual leaps and bounds in the last few days, both on record and in the live arena. Let me explain. As far as live goes, I am venturing into the scary new world of STANDING UP. I’ve never really tried STANDING UP with an acoustic before. In fact, the idea seemed so outlandish to me that years ago I removed the back strap button from my acoustic, chortling to myself and my recklessness, thinking “I won’t be needing THAT little thing!” How wrong I was. When one graduates to being the only person on stage, I feel kind of obliged to stand. It seems rude to sit, somehow… I don’t know. I feel I should provide more mass for people to look at or something. Ho hum. The practical upshot of this is that I have been wandering around my room strumming to myself, feeling not unlike a minstrel. I have to keep reminding myself that at gigs I will have to at least vaguely be in the same place for the microphone, innit. Unless of course, I go for a HEADSET MICROPHONE. No, Turner, no, resist.

I also have a rather fetching black strap with skulls and crossbones on it, courtesy of my parents when I was about 14 and thought that was the height of fashion. “No mum, I want the SKULLS one, PLEASE….”

I’ve also been venturing into the forbidden realm of the guitar solo. This really is a new thing for me, but there I was, demoing a new song, and, well, it couldn’t just go from the last chorus into the outro, it needed something more, but not another bridge, and certainly not another verse, so… (clouds blacken, thunder rumbles) I went for it. Conceptually, that is… I’m still trying to (a) write one that sounds good and (b) play it in a not-completely-cack-handed kind of way. I’ll keep you posted on the progress of my Van Halen stylings…