Bill Nelson's Diary - January 2004

Monday, 19th January 2004 -- 1.00 PM  Back to Top
Hurtling towards the end of January at what feels like hyperspeed. Can't believe that my concert at The Mick Jagger Arts Centre in Dartford is only six days away. I really need to make a start on checking through my equipment this week, change guitar strings and make sure everything is ready for Dave Standeaven to collect and drive 'down south' in his van.  My waking hours have been totally absorbed by various ongoing projects,one of which, the cover for the published version of my diaries, has taken up more time than I'd expected.  My original idea of a single photograph for the cover of 'Diary Of A Hyperdreamer' didn't work out. Pomona's head honcho Mark Hodkinson wasn't too keen on it (positively hated it), and so I have embarked on a different visual journey. My idea now is to use several photographs in a sort of mosaic or collage pattern. I've created over eighty images (including variations of certain images), which I need to boil down to a more easily assimilated batch of about twenty. Pomona's art/layout person, Christian Brett, can then choose from these for the final assembly. I don't think the finished piece will need more than half a dozen to a dozen images but I want to give Christian enough choices to pull it all together.

I took some night-time photographs in Saltaire yesterday which I intend to subject to various manipulations today. All of the photographs I've taken for the project so far have been filtered and treated, somequite radically. I've been going for a hyper-saturated, hallucinogenic, dreamy look...ordinary things dislocated, transmuted, wrapped in glory, not unlike the way the images in the 'Flashlight Dreams' DVD were handled. It's been creatively absorbing but time-consuming.

I've also got a little further with recording music for my collaboration with Matt Howarth. I now have a vocal number completed for a section of the story where the main character, 'Cassidy', channels the personalities of Jimi Hendrix and Chet Atkins via a futuristic digital guitar. The song (at the moment called 'Cassidy's Song'), is amusing as it switches between musical hints at the different styles of these two players, topped off by Cassidy's vocal (mine), singing about his personal cynicism. All very tongue-in-cheek but good fun.  Have also completed a demo of a song for the proposed band album and tour. Another on the way too, though I'm not sure whether this second one is quite right for the band yet...I'll see how it turns out. If not suitable, it will go on to a Nelsonica convention CD at the end of the year.

Saltaire

Nighttime shot of Saltaire by Bill Nelson

Have also been making preparations for a guitar show in Soave in Italy. This is a kind of retail industry affair that a friend of mine, who owns the Music Ground guitar stores in Leeds and London, is exhibiting at. He's sponsoring a live performance/workshop section at the show (to be held at the beginning of May), and I've been invited to perform some of my solo instrumental things there along with fellow guitarist/singer Brendan Croker of 'Nottinghillbillys' fame. It's basically a 'play for your supper' deal, a free trip to Italy with all expenses paid and a couple of days off to see Venice and maybe Milan. Good food and wine thrown in so it shouldn't be too much of a hardship.  How favourably a crowd of Italian guitar dealers and shoppers will react to my non-linear, non-macho guitar playing is another matter though. The only other concerts I've ever given in Italy were at a couple of 'art music' experimental events, hardly the domain of people in search of vintage Strats and Marshall plexi-heads. Could end up being more of a challenge than its worth but...we'll see. Maybe there are some Italian Nelsonians out there who will come along to lend their encouragement.  

Plans for the autumn band tour are also occupying my thoughts. It's as if the whole year has already been marked out for me. Concerts are being discussed and put in place as I write. There is also talk of publicity and photo shoots being arranged soon. The PR angle will be the 30 year anniversary of the release of 'Axe Victim.' A big celebration.  Whilst autumn seems a long way off yet, there is a hell of a lot of work to be done to get everything ready in time. It's quite daunting. I'm both nervous and excited by the prospect, desperately keen to make it a success and a really special event, not just for older fans but for new ones too. I'd love it to be a real gathering of the clan, an open minded, cross-fertilisation of hearts and minds. As I've mentioned often in these pages, I'm planning to serve up a vibrant panorama of my musical history, a performance that shows off all the facets and illuminates the connections between various eras and styles. I'm approaching it with the same care and ambition that I directed towards the classic Be Bop shows of the '70's, but with a much broader musical menu...including both old and new things. It may be that I'm taking on more than I can safely handle but the challenge is a seductive one. Nothing ventured, etc.

None of this would be possible without the help of sponsorship of course. I'm still trying to absorb the fact that 'Sound-On-Sound' magazine have offered to come on board in a very positive way. Their unexpected offer of help has been absolutely fantastic and I will never be able to thank them enough for their support and encouragement. There are other offers of sponsorship too and I will be announcing who they are as things gradually fall into place. It's all a bit dream-like at the moment but the reality of it will hit soon enough and there will be, I'm sure, plenty of problems and obstacles to overcome. Nevertheless, things are looking good.

Had a couple of nice letters from Harold (Budd) who is both moving house and scoring two visual projects. One of these days, we'll get back to our long held plan to perform together again. A shame that our proposed Mexican concert fizzled out last year.  On the domestic front, it's been expensive, a chain of household bills to pay and two expensive repairs to Emi's car (a new windscreen and also a new exhaust system).   Not the kind of thing we need right after the Christmas expense. Inevitable though, of course.  Alan Myers tells me that finished copies of 'Plaything' arrived from the factory today. Excellent! Perfect timing for the concert next Sunday. The few people who have heard it so far have made a similar observation...it's an album that suddenly 'clicks' after several listens. Once the penny drops, they all enthuse tremendously about it. This is a good sign. The instantly gratifying records tend to pale the quickest, at least in my experience, but music that takes a little longer to insinuate itself into one's heart becomes a permanent delight. 'Plaything' is an album that respects the listener's intelligence and sensitivity and an album that will, hopefully, reward careful listening. It's one of those albums that presents the listener with a complete journey, rather than a few faded postcards from distant locations.  

I have to collect some clothes from the dry-cleaners today, items for stage wear. If I can squeeze my post-Christmas bulk into them. It's that time of year: All the mirrors in the house are veiled and I avoid reflections in shop windows for fear of inducing a terrible depression. All is vanity.
 

 

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