When I was about 14 or 15 and starting to immerse myself further and further into the arcane world of underground punk / hardcore / indie, there were a few bands that were milestones for me (if not for the scene as a whole). The bands that open your eyes and ears to a whole new scene and set you off at a new tangent. One of the most crucial of those for me was Mineral. It’s weird loking back on it now, after all that’s come in the wake of “emo”, but at the time they really blew me away. They had a subtle but shuddering heaviness to them which was unlike anything I’d heard before, and the lyrics were (and are) very powerful too. After they split, Chris Simpson, the singer, was briefly in a band called The Gloria Record, but he’s now touring on his own – you can find his stuff here.

The upshot of all this is… As much as I’m supposed to be cutting down on London shows at the moment (i.e. not playing every other day), I just got asked to play a show with Chris at the Brixton Windmill on October 4th. Its pretty awesome for me – getting asked to play a show with a childhood hero. To top it all, Jamie Tanaou (a.k.a. The Remarkable Rocket) is also on the bill. Come on down.

Lamacq Live last night was great – it was a privelege to play the last one. You can listen again to the show if you missed it here (or if you just want to relive the wonder). Richard Hawley was also ace, and very friendly. A big hello to any new fans.

Apart from reliving some Mineral glory, I’ve been listening to the Levellers all day, for reasons I can’t begin to fathom, but it’s ace.