Everything is free

I had been obsessed with Gillian Welch about a year ago, specifically Time: The Revelator, needing to hear it a couple of times a day. Time wore on, and other stimuli infiltrated my attention. Listening indifferently to it just this week, whilst toiling away at some administrative nonsense, the meaning of one of the songs, Everything Is Free, suddenly became clear. I'd fallen in love with her morose southern drawl and the simplicity of the recordings, not particularly the content of the lyrics.

Everything Is Free seemed to resonate strongly with my own feelings about how music is these days, how the way the world works now. We give everything away for free because we can't beat the pirates. They're too many, we are too few, and our righteous cause of payment for goods and services delivered, is dismissed, let alone even considered. So instead of beating them, we acquiesce, and take money from sponsors instead, directly or indirectly rather than from the listeners themselves.

What I love the most about the song though, is the last verse, which intimates that, if this is the way it must be, then one has no right to demand anything from the musician. Their expression of creativity may well be free for all to hear, but pure. Free from meddling record companies with agendas. The control is placed firmly within the musician's hands.

Whether this is a good thing or not, is somewhat subjective. Some sort of direction, whether it comes from the musician or whether it comes from some svengali type, is always positive. Personally I see both sources of direction as being equally valid, regardless of whether they make money or not. Financial success shouldn't really be linked to purity of expression, or the corruption of it, though it often is. Her two fingers up at all that ironically undermine and yet demand of her, and the stoical nature of her music is something to admired.

Lyrics printed below:

Everything is free now,
That's what they say.
Everything I ever loved,
I'm going to give it away.
Someone hit the big score.
They figured it out,
That we're gonna do it anyway,
Even if doesn't pay.

I can get a tip jar,
Gas up the car,
And try to make a little change
Down at the bar.

Or I can get a straight job,
I've done it before.
I never minded working hard,
It's who I'm working for.

(Chorus)

Every day I wake up,
Come in a song.
But I don't need to run around,
I just stay home.

And sing a little love song,
My love, to myself.
If there's something that you want to hear,
You can sing it yourself.

'Cause everything is free now,
That what I say.
No one's got to listen to
The words in my head.
Someone hit the big score,
And I figured it out,
That we're gonna do it anyway,
Even if doesn't pay.

Listen to the song here:
http://www.myspace.com/gillianwelch

Power Down VII, February 28th, 2009

Power Down VII is upon us, and will be Saturday February 28th at the Islington Arts Factory, 2 Parkhurst Road, N7 0SF. Apologies for the late news of this date, but we had a slight issue with the cancellation of some acts. However, all the troubles are over, and this will be a very special one, i can guarantee that.

If you're new to this and are unsure what Power Down is, it is this:

"Power Down is an irregular night of eclectic musical entertainment that aims to promote sustainability through subtle means. The performers are completely unamplified and the audience is silent out of necessity. The lighting is provided by donated candles and a type of candle that we make ourselves using recycled vegetable oil from the local fish and chip shop. Food and beverages are served which are either organic or locally produced. The nights are held together by the host Marmaduke Dando, and are generally held at the Islington Arts Factory in Holloway, north London.

"The following acts have performed at Power Down in the last 2 years: The Hoosiers, Liam Bailey, Cellorhythmics, Seb Genovese, Ahuman, Portico Quartet, Chris Lyons, Rebecca Jade, Rachel Rose Reid, Rob McCabe, Tall Stories, Sara Mitra, Josephine Oniyama, Citizen Helene & The Racists, Lemond, Chancery Blame and The Gadjo Club, Zoot Lynam and his band, Top Shelf Jazz, The Langley Sisters, Ed Harcourt, and Marmaduke Dando. "

The line-up for this Power Down will be just 3 acts this time, to give you all enough time to drink and talk in between sets, and make the last tubes.

The line-up for Power Down VII will be just 3 acts this time, to give you all enough time to drink and talk in between sets, and make the last tubes.

Cellorhythmics as the Working Classical Orchestra - The progressive cello group who played the first ever Power Down with The Hoosiers two years ago are back with their 10 piece orchestra, the Working Classical Orchestra. Have a listen and look at one of their performances here:


Kat Vipers - Hailing originally from Greece, Kat Vipers is a young pianist with a flamboyant vibrato that croons over everything from gypsy folk, to punk and sinister fifties-era melodrama. Have a listen and look here:


The Boycott Coca Cola Experience - One man on a bicycle playing his guitar while he rides to power a small amp (a momentary power up). Hilariously dry tales of the horrors of the modern world. Take a peak here:


Entrance will be 5 pounds on the door, and doors will open at 8pm. The first performer will be on about 8.30pm. The usual cheap organic drinks will be on sale at the bar.

There are about one hundred buses that stop outside the venue, and there are two close tube stations, Holloway Road and Caledonian Road station. Do not fear if you reside in some far flung recess of London, the entertainment will be finished in time for you to catch your tubes. As this aims to be a low carbon event, we urge the audience to use public transport, bicycles or their own feet to get to the venue, as the performers will also be doing. There are secure places to lock your bikes. If you have to drive, then please don't come!

Enjoy the silence

London is under a blanket of snow. I stayed up late last night looking over it all in wonder. The sky was sodium orange, almost like daylight, the city lights reflected in the flakes. How I imagine daylight on Mars to be, two thirds the strength of Earth light, and with an eerie tangerine glow to it.

This morning, no public services are working of course, and it's too heavy to cycle or walk. There are children laughing, adults grinning, snowmen leaning wonkily, and a silence I've not heard, since, hmmm, my travels through Siberia, and Mongolia.

Not only is it the acoustic quality of snow, that sucks up all sound, and kills reflections, but it's the fact that there are hardly any machines running today. Just a smattering of cars, going very slowly. It's utter heaven. Imagine what London would be like with this few machines? It would be a utopia. Marinetti wouldn't know where to look. The only thing to complete the scene would be to have the church bells playing Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue.

What a wonderful world.

Darkness at noon

I'm just chomping through Darkness At Noon by Arthur Koestler and came upon this little gem:

"A mathematician once said that algebra was the science for lazy people - one does not work out x, but operates with it as if one knew it. In our case, x stands for the anonymous masses, the people. Politics mean operating with this x without worrying about its actual nature. Making history is to recognise x for what it stands for in the equation."

How the candles are made at Power Down

Since Power Down began, the lighting we employ has gone through a number of incarnations. I scoured the internet looking for the best source of lighting for our needs, and found many possible solutions. Clearly the motive behind Power Down is the looming energy crisis and man's contribution to global warming, so it was imperative to bare this in mind when choosing the solution.

The first thing to address is the inefficiency of candles over electric light. For the same amount of calories that a typical candle would burn to produce light, an incandescent light bulb will glow 39 times brighter. Imagine then using a Compact Fluorescent Light, or even LEDs, and you'll have an greater degree of efficiency.

However, the beauty of the atmosphere at Power Down is the low luminosity of candle light. There would be no vibe whatsoever if the audience and performers were bathed in a blazing grey light from a ceiling array of LEDs. Not to mention, the name of the night alludes to zero power usage, regardless of the source.

So candles it was. Though actually, at first it was oil lamps. I asked my local fish and chip shop in Holloway, the Odeon Fish and Chip Shop, whether they had any spare vegetable oil I could have. All they did with the oil was to leave it outside for collection by the company that delivered fresh supplies. This would most probably be thrown on landfill or worked into pet food. Something to consider the next time you bite into one of your dog's biscuits.

I then began making these fiddly little contraptions, oil lamps made from glass jars, water, the oil, paper clips, and wicks made from platted string. They burn very well, and if just a few, they're quite manageable. With 70 of the blighters, it turned out that there were just too many to attend to all night.

If you can imagine, there was water in the jar about 7/8ths to the top. Oil filled the final 8th, and a wick would be held in the centre of the jar by a paper clip hanging from the side of the jar lip. The wick would hang from it's position, through the oil, and down into the water. When lit, the oil would be sucked up through the wick by capillary action to the tip, where it would be burned by the flame, and heat, light, soot, and carbon dioxide would be produced. After a while, the decrease in oil would be noticeable, by exposing more of the wick, creating a bigger and dirtier flame. This was combated by one of 3 ways: 1 - Trimming the wick in mid burn, 2 - Topping the jar up with more oil, and 3 - Topping the jar up with more water. The third choice was the most practical, and hence implemented. This had me rushing around with a small watering can delicately filling up the jars to keep the flames at the optimum size. Whilst trying to arrange the performers and host the evening, you can imagine this was quite a task.

Not only were they hard to maintain in great numbers, but when kicked over by an appendage under the influence of delicious organic beer, sending oil and water flying in all directions, they made a bloody mess! So the design of the lighting had to improve to be more independent and be made of a less capricious substance.

I was inspired by margarine. It is made from vegetable oil and yet is semi solid. How do they do that? I researched the hydrogenation process and found that it's done by heating the oil to hundreds of degrees centigrade and at a huge pressure. Not something I could feasibly do on my stove at home.

Buying candles was not an option, as it would be creating demand for raw and often finite materials, such as crude oil which refines to paraffin, found in candles. Candles made from vegetables, soya etc would be made from crops likely to be taking the place of food crops, or precious rainforest, not to mention the transportation of the stuff, likely to be from the other side of the world.

The conclusion I came to was to use the second hand vegetable oil I already had, and mix it with redundant wax from candles that have had their wicks burn down, and then make them into new candles. The solidity from the paraffin in the candles would be compromised by oil diluting the wax, but it would make more candles, and so increase efficiency.

I had to extract this redundant wax from the well crafted under-sink cupboards of Islington somehow, and I did so through Freecycle. Many donations came through, after the specific plea that they should not create a demand for new candles to be purchased in the shops.

Once the harvest was sufficient, I took a large saucepan, filled it with the second hand vegetable oil, and began to heat it slowly. I then added some of the broken and redundant wax from the donations I'd received, until it had melted. I never measured anything accurately, but I would hazard a guess that the ratio is one part of wax, to five parts of oil. I then ladled this out into myriad containers, with short lengths of string for wicks. These were anchored to the bottom of the container by a thin metal square from a beer can with a split cut halfway in that held the bottom of the wick. The containers were a collection of sardine tins and mince pie cups. The liquid would take roughly an hour to cool properly, and would then of course harden. The candles were now ready for transportation or use, with no mess. The little maintenance that is involved is a simple wick trim with a pair of scissors, but this is far less frequent than with the oil lamps.

If you've been to a Power Down before, you may notice that there are some very smart looking white church candles adorning walls and podiums. These are not the candles described above. They were donated from a company in the City that, despite their generous nature in this instance, do not warrant any form of advertising. They had bought all these candles for the tables of some award ceremony, which were burnt during, and after became useless to them. It seemed an awful shame to melt down such good candles into the mucky brown pallets, so I left them intact. They've been lighting the churches for over a year now.

So hopefully, this riveting read has mildly absolved Power Down from the guilt spawned from the culture of waste, if not because of a reduction in emissions. It is hoped that for every Power Down that is staged, the nightly carbon footprints of 200 people are considerably reduced, by choosing our night of entertainment over something more traditionally profligate.

MDH

Atrocity Exhibition

There is not a more perfect picture of man's ugliness than that of S**********. The scourge of all things striving toward beauty and absolution. A tick the size of a city. An invading species of suffocating kelp. A farm of subsistence misery, encapsulates forgotten terrain.

Dissonance reeks in every shadow, while grace cowers in neglected reservations. Traffic lights abound, as breathing apparatus for the ignominious. Lice, behind painted slabs, breed without hesitation. For boom and bust, in fog we trust.

At the General, the grand frame, the wicked altar, a palace of filth, all the glaring instances of vulgarity this hateful mess contains are held. As if on show in a state museum, a pageant for successful mutations, an atrocity exhibition.

What a place for one to die. What a place to say goodbye.

A Summary of 2008

Now the year of Two Thousand and Eight is drawing to close, I thought it might be an appropriate time to take stock of the musical happenings of the past year. I can't quite muster the correct amount of enthusiasm for this, but as well as it being a cathartic process for myself, the documenting of the quality of venue and general experience of over 40 gigs I have played this year in London, may prove useful to others that are about to embark on a similar endeavour.

20 Dec 2008 - Mutate Britain @ Cordy House, 87-95 Curtain Road, Shoreditch

Not yet played.

09 Dec 2008 - Bourne and Hollingsworth, 28 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia

See below.

07 Dec 2008 - Sensual Earthly Women @ Ryan’s Bar, 181 Stoke Newington Church Street

See below.

20 Nov 2008 - The Last Days of Decadence, 145 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch

Awful sound, rude staff, full of vapid wankers with unhinged jaws. No redeeming features. Would never return, not even for a drink.

19 Nov 2008 - Cirque de Crème Anglaise @ The Cross Kings (Upstairs), 126 York Way, King’s Cross

Pleasant set of coves that run this night. Good sound on stage, messy back room, lots of things scattered around, custard creams aplenty and London Pride on tap. Would certainly play here again.

05 Nov 2008 - Chicken Royale @ Bar Monsta, 18 Kentish Town Road

Awful bar with a stage, devoid of any character, though the promoter was reasonable enough. One of those nights where you'd rather stay in an watch Strictly with your fiancée. Would never play here again.

18 Oct 2008 - Biddle Bros, 88 Lower Clapton Road

Back room of a quaint bar in an unlikely area. Reasonable sound, agreeable audience. No payment, though I think a few drinks are provided if not playing as part of a Saturday jam session, which I had no idea I was playing. Piano exists in this bar, but not sure of it's tuning. Would play here again, but on a dedicated night, not a jam night.

10 Oct 2008 - Sensual Earthly Women @ Ryan’s Bar, 118 Stoke Newington Church Street

Excellent sound downstairs, run by SEW, always a pleasure. Would play again in a shot.

09 Oct 2008 - Boogaloo, 312 Archway Road, Highgate

See below.

04 Oct 2008 - Power Down VI, Islington Arts Factory, 2 Parkhurst Road, Holloway

The birth place of the Power Down movement, the Islington Arts Factory is an arts space in a converted church. The huge cavernous hall lends itself perfectly for the divine acoustics when using unamplified instruments. Wonderful people working behind the bar, and a great feeling of well being amongst the audience. A working, in-tune piano and other instruments provided. Candle lit as standard and low on carbon emissions. Performers get paid very well, in my experience. Would always play here, as it's my initiative.

25 Sep 2008 - Boogaloo, 312 Archway Road, Highgate

Unfortunately one is not tripping over Shane McGowan's comatose body when entering this notorious north London boozer. Always a crowd forming irrespective of your act, usually some guest list and some drinks. PA is wholly ineffective and strains under the weight of more than 2 inputs. Don't even think about putting a bass through it. It will probably never get upgraded either, as there is a limiter that cuts all electricity once the levels in the room reach speaking volume. There is a neglected piano usually piled with guitar cases and leads, not sure how in tune it is. Would play here again, but would have to choose instrumentation wisely and consider logistics of amplification.

20 Sep 2008 - Decasia Club @ The George Tavern, 373 Commercial Road

Pleasant and enthusiastic promoter, free drinks and a guest list, who would have thought such privileges exist?! An old east end boozer with a lot of character. Full of dirt, the stage a happy after thought in the corner of the room. Good sound, plenty of vibe, an audience that comes not just for the bands, so one finds new ears for a thrashing. They even have bottles of Shepherd Neame behind the bar, albeit at ludicrous prices. Would love to play here again.

05 Sep 2008 - Viva Viva, 18 High St, Hornsey

A restaurant with a stage in the middle of nowhere. Very difficult to get to for all involved. Bar staff and owner are most agreeable, and the sound is crisp. Would be reluctant to play here again.

21 Aug 2008 - The Betsey Trotswood (downstairs), Farringdon Road

Always had grief playing here in the last few years, mainly from promoters who are passing on their own problems to the acts with the militant and unreasonable venue regulations and hire price. Why promoters should be paying to hire out a venue, let alone one smaller than most people's living rooms, is beyond me. When the promoter is reluctant to give you £20 for the taxi to move all the gear you're sharing with everyone, and regardless of the fact that you've brought an audience of a more than decent size, been given no guest list or complimentary lubricants, you can only wonder why you bother. Though the sound is surprisingly good for such an intimate venue, the persistent hassle undermines any enjoyment one might have had. Wouldn't play here again.

17 Aug 2008 - Barden’s Boudoir, 38-44 Stoke Newington Road

Shoddy sound in here, though that may be to do with the rectangular shape of the room and the placement of the stage, and the hard flat surfaces everywhere. Empty it's rather disheartening and pointless, full, I can imagine a right raucous occasion with perhaps an improvement in audio quality. Reluctant to play here again, but probably easily persuaded.

14 Aug 2008 - Power Down V, St Mary’s Church, Stoke Newington

As stated before, an incredible place to play, and even better unamplified. To hear your voice naturally reverberating around the church walls is a heavenly experience. Audience sat quiet and attentively in the pews and candle lit. One of the high moments of the year. Would jump at any opportunity to play here again.

26 Jul 2008 - Stranger Than Paradise, DEX, 467-469 Brixton Road

Played on the rooftop under a small tent at the height of summer, very romantic, sipping Gin and Tonics on the terrace overlooking the immediate Brixton skyline. Promoter looks after you well, lots of other interesting and entertaining things to do and see. Surprisingly easy to get back to North London at 4am: 2 buses but plenty of them so not much waiting. Would play for them again.

24 Jul 2008 - The Lock Tavern, 35 Chalk Farm Road

Awful sound, rude staff, full of vapid wankers with unhinged jaws. No redeeming features. Would never return, not even for a drink.

15 Jul 2008 - Bourne and Hollingsworth, 28 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia

A wonderful basement bar in a most underrated part of town. Old wallpaper, tea room vibe, jovial coves serving Asahi and Gin and Tonics. Sound done behind the bar, simple yet clear. Tiny room makes for a heaving pack standing on the toes of the performers. Just as it should be. Would play again whenever possible.

12 Jul 2008 - Feeling Gloomy, Islington Academy, N1 Complex, Angel

Awful sound, dreadful beer, abysmal selection of drinks and served in an unapologetic savage fashion: plastic cups. Stirling chaps that run the night, but the venue, owned by Carling, can in my opinion, go to hell. Would hate to play this place again, but fear it may be one of those compromises.

05 Jul 2008 - The Wilmington (supporting Yeti),

See below.

02 Jul 2008 - The Defectors Weld, 170 Uxbridge Road

There's rarely a good reason for heading west, and despite the horror of the flowers on the bar downstairs invoke, it's a decent pub. The upstairs venue is tiny, quaint and warm, crammed full of vintage sofas. The sound is excellent, free beer was provided. Would certainly play here again, though because of it's western location, pulling a crowd is difficult.

28 Jun 2008 - The Lion, 132 Stoke Newington Church Street

Half a PA, dreadful acoustics. Would not play here again.

26 Jun 2008 - Tommy Flynn’s, 55 Camden High Street

Grubby, loud, full of oddballs, about as good as Camden gets. Would certainly play here again.

18 Jun 2008 - Jrink, 62 Frith Street

Soho cocktail bar devoid of character. Not even worth a drink let alone the bother of performing.

13 Jun 2008 - Wilmington Arms, Roseberry Avenue

Reasonably established intimate venue that didn't live up to expectations. Bad sound, lazy engineer, and a bouquet of flowers on top of the bar. Would prefer not to play here again but wouldn't rule it out.

08 Jun 2008 - Maggie’s, 98-100 Stoke Newington Church Street

Awful bar with ghastly decor, mirrors everywhere, pvc covered seating and where visible, orange walls. Sound dire. Ruthless harridan that runs the place will throw anyone out without hesitation or logic. Would not play here again even if my life depended on it.

07 Jun 2008 - The Deptford Arms, 52 Deptford High St

Probably the least disturbing of pubs in Deptford, with a vague connection to the arts. Reasonable sound, strange audience. Hard to get yourself down to Deptford, let alone any fans or friends you may have. Held a certain raw charm to it. Would prefer not to play here again.

05 Jun 2008 - City Hall - World Environment Day

A real highlight of the year, and a gig never to forget. Though we only played 2 songs, I bellowed across London's Living room, while the sun went down on the capital. Made many contacts in sustainable industries here. Very attentive audience. Free organic wine. Would play here again in a shot.

29 May 2008 - The Hideaway, 114 Junction Road

See below.

18 May 2008 - World’s End, Opposite Camden Tube Station

See below.

11 May 2008 - Rock Garden, Covent Garden

A Sunday afternoon of a hodge podge of genres. Good sound, little vibe. Would be apprehensive to play here again.

05 May 2008 - The Green, 29 Clerkenwell Green

See below.

29 Mar 2008 - Sensual Earthly Women @ St Mary’s Old Church, at the start of Stoke Newington Church Street

Sensual Earthly Women is a night run by Saint Natasa of Stokie. Through her nights I've met what I believe to be the cream of London song writing. Equipment provided, lots of familiar faces in the crowd, free grappa. No payment, but always good times. This particular venue is a dream to play in terms of atmosphere as it's over 500 years old. However, the sound, when heavily amplified is quite muddy.

16 Mar 2008 - Above the Clock @ The Green, 29 Clerkenwell Green

See below.

17 Feb 2008 - World’s End, 174 Camden High Street

A Sunday afternoon gig, playing to the weary shoppers of tat from Camden Market. Usually quite busy, full of people you don't know and refreshing in that respect. Stage set up in front of the fire escape. Flat stone surfaces all around this pub make the sound lack clarity. Couple of free can's of Carling and Strongbow. Pleasant fellows that run it. Would rather not play here again.

15 Feb 2008 - Deptford Birds Nest, 32 Deptford Church Street

Dreary old pub on the side of a dual carriageway. Deptford isn't the most magnetic of places at the best of times, and this hovel does the village no favours. Wouldn't play here again under any circumstances.

10 Feb 2008 - Above the Clock @ The Green, 29 Clerkenwell Green

A big airy room with pleasing acoustics, little amplification needed. No hassle to arrange or perform. Food was served for the performers, a few free drinks too. Many enjoyable Sunday afternoons playing here. Would love to play here again.

31 Jan 2008 - The Hideaway - Tango In The Night, 114 Junction Road

Yet another gloomy basement, as all venues should be. Wonderful people who run this joint. For an intimate setting this is splendid. Unfortunately, there's an irritating neighbour directly above that rains terror down on the whole place, forcing music to be kept to a level barely audible. Would play here again once neighbour has been dealt with.

18 Jan 2008 - The Constitution, 42 St Pancras Way

Easily the best pub in Camden, though that isn't saying much. A charming beer garden overlooking the canal, and a dingy basement where bands cram onto a stage no bigger than a coffin. Awful sound, easily remedied, but no will to do so. Heaps of charm but would only play here again as a 3 piece.

13 Jan 2008 - 93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane

A large cold hall out the back with little character. Good sound as I remember. Highly unsuitable for my act. Would prefer not to play here again, though it appears I am.

---

Make of that what you will. If you are a promoter that has read this far, first of all I congratulate you! You've done more research on your acts than most. Secondly, you should know that I enjoy playing live as much as possible, but obviously to a point. I've never demanded money or anything else from anyone, least of all had expectations. A few free drinks and money for transport if one is providing the equipment, is obviously much appreciated. I love dives, any place with character, and stocked with genuine types will have me chomping at the bit.

Thank you to all that have made this year one to look back on with delight. Have a merry Christmas and good will to all.

MDH