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17.07.2009 -
Dear Friends,
I am on my way to Quebec for a couple of shows with Sting and then a
short tour in the States with Peter Kater. Nice to be in the business
lounge for a change. Great food here and some nice cutlery which I am
contemplating stealing. I think they might notice if I Bogart the
espresso machine though. Had an interesting car journey to Nice
airport. I can't believe how fast people drive here. We were going
along quite nicely (about 70 MPH) when we were overtaken by a swimming
pool. Yes, you read correctly. It was on a truck. Great title for a
book. Dominic Miller's "Overtaken by Swimming Pools". A self help
book, of course.
As most of you know I got back with Sting and did some shows. The
line-up was Sting, Vinnie Colaiuta, David Sancious and moi. We met
in Chicago to rehearse for a concert with the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra and a couple of band rock shows. The first thing we did was
go through the rock set and the result was like putting on an old pair
of shoes ("old" being the operative word). It was so, so easy. I think
it's the first time I have ever played with Sting where he had
absolutely no direction for any of us. Believe me, he can be anal with
arrangements (hi Sting). This band allows him to do his thing while we
do what we like because it can't really be wrong if you understand the
role you are playing. This line-up so does. After going through all
the songs once, we left it there and without even a word or a glimpse
collectively knew we kicked ass and didn't need to rehearse again. We
spent the rest of the week focusing on the CSO concert. **** me, what
an experience that was! Three best orchestras in the world? Vienna,
Berlin and Chicago. End of. I was so nervous before show I couldn't
pee. Desperate as I was, niente. The highlight for me would have to be
playing the intro to one of my tunes, "Lullaby to an Anxious Child"
and then having the CSO follow me. Hi Mum.
I then went on to Quebec to do some solo shows at a guitar festival. I
was staying in Nouryn-Noranda, a town most Canadians haven't even
heard of. It took a crop duster to get there from Montreal. I love the
contrast of the Sting world and mine. One is the best travel, hotels,
conditions etc, the other is pretty basic. Actually, it sucks. But I
think I get the joke. The hotel in Quebec was not the Four Seasons.
The Two Seasons more like (the two cold ones). My room was quite big
but it had a distinct smell of sadness. The sheets gave me electric
shocks and lit up every time I moved. But hey, this is jazz. The first
night Larry Carlton invited me up on his set. Incredible guitarist. We
did a duet of "Fields of Gold" and "Shape of my Heart". Unbelievable.
Cool guy too. The next night I did a really dodgy solo show in a bar.
The TV was on showing a hockey game (the gig before that one was at
the Air Canada arena with Sting. More contrast). I tried to time the
endings of my tunes with a hockey goal so as to get maximum applause.
Then I had a fantastic solo show at the festival which ended my North
American jaunt feeling pretty good.
I had a fantastic concert with Yaron Herman in Wartburg, Eisenach which
is in Germany. We had no preparation for this show and have never done
a duo concert. I must admit I was worried about it because I like to
know what I am going to play. But Yaron's attitude was, "it'll all be
cool Dom". The concert was 80% improvisation and 20% structure.
Playing with him is really raising the bar for me in many ways. It's
all about instinct, listening, confidence etc. We improvised over many
different concepts and barely touched the surface of my tunes. It was
great to weave in and out of different moods, themes and structures
instead of having a scripted "show" like I usually do. All this in
front of an audience gives it a certain edge because all can go wrong
at any moment. We got derailed a couple of times but it didn't matter
at all because we got the thing across. Thanks Yaron. We will be doing
more of these so watch this space.
The album is well and truly finished. I tried doing the odd re-mix,
but came to realise it's never really over. Sometimes it's hard to
know when all these adjustments start going the wrong way and you end
up losing the essence of a piece. I have made that mistake before. I
would rather have imperfections that are sincere as opposed to the
contrary. At this stage I don't know if the album is the best thing I
have ever done or the worst. You can be the judge of that. I have made
a real departure with the sound and feel, but compositionally speaking
it comes from exactly the same place. There are all kinds of
influences here, not just musical. Books I have read, films I have
seen, people I have met, food I have eaten etc. These are the things
that make me write. Not music. I like to listen to music for style and
structure. Left to my own devices I don't listen to music much. I hope
you like it. It will be out soon and I have changed the title... I
know it's taken a while but there were actually only 13 days total
recording and mixing this record. For some reason it always takes ages
putting these things away with mixing, mastering, artwork etc. During
a recent yoga session I was bending down in one of those painful
ashtanga positions with my head virtually touching my toenails when I
told myself I wouldn't cut them until this record was over. Two months
later I became Edward Scissor Feet. They are gone now. Should I
auction them on ebay? Sorry, too much information.
I am pretty broke at the moment. This is mainly because I haven't been
in the fast lane for a while. Maybe this will change, who knows, but
this is how it is for now and I am ok with it. (I can't believe I just
wrote that. What a load of bollocks). However, I am feeling wealthy in
other areas. There is nothing worse than being loaded and a miserable
**nt except maybe being broke and a miserable .... I am doing things
like fixing my reading glasses with super-glue when they break instead
of buying new ones. Difficult to do without the glasses hence having
most of the glue end up on my fingers. I spent more time trying to get
the glue off my fingers.
I sometimes get criticised or questioned for being too open or
revealing of myself with these newsletters. I am not sure exactly what
is meant by that other than to say I don't intend to change either
way. For those who find I say too much, I say don't read them. Or
better still, fuck off. (How did you read this far anyway?). I have
seen some really "cool" blogging or tweeting posted by some people I
know. The thing is, who they portray themselves to be is usually the
polar opposite of who they really are. I say to them, firstly, hard as
it may be, deal with who you are and then, if you have the cojones,
put them on the table. For those who do get something out of what I
write thank you for all your letters which encourage me to be even
more open.
That's it for now folks,
Love,
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