New year normally brings with it a host of promises to oneself… eg. I will eat no more than 1000 calories and endulge in at least one thoughtless act a day. I will not look at domestic animals in that way. I will feel regularly ashamed and begin worship to the god of hyper-vanity and introspection. I will devote myself to junk hoarding and the research of flying insects.

Man-made school of parking

Anyway, musically, work towards Man-made Noise album number 2 has commenced. New songs are being polished in the Sonic Rooms and will be committed to tape some time over the next couple of months. Hopefully the album will be completed for summer time before we embark as a full band on a Japanese tour. Gigs are coming up at The Sesh on 2nd March, The Welly 2nd April (good friday) and a Live session of Radio Humberside’s Raw Talent show 18th April. We also have a gig TBC at Hull University supporting the Sunshine Underground which should be a belter indeed on 18th May.

Baby Tortoise - Not for plectrums

Here are a couple of pics from our journey out to Nottingham last year. Our first proper full band gig. It was super catchin up wi luverly folks. We were kindly put up at Mr Knights and the following day dropped in at Tall Trees where H and Guy, showed us some likkle tortoises…not for making plectrums. Check out the worlds best selection of Tea and coffee. We all bought some but James was a bit disappointed with his choice…he said it was a harsh smoke.

James and Gav in a world of caffeine

Last gig at Lagg time - Courtesy of Paul Church

One of the final shows in Tokyo was a Guns and Roses themed event at the Velvet sun Cafe…Each artist was asked to play a song by the LA hair rock band to participate. The night was a reet laugh and as-well as playing  a shuffling acoustica version of Welcome to the Jungle, I got up at the end of the night with the other bands to join in for a full blooded version of the same song. Surreal indeed but impeccably organised, with cue cards facing the stage. After the show… it was 30 minutes before I was bombing down the spinal cord of Tokyo to a studio in Yokohama with my pal Daisuke.

Producer Yass following his Playstation World Cup Football victory

It is the musical den of Oyakata, an eccentric building firm owner with hyperactive tendencies who has built and nurtured it among shrink wrapped bathroom suites, forklift trucks and wood shavings.

An unexpected hidden gem with all the gear… and after a good nights kip on the floor in the control room, I took the home made floor lift and spent a day casting spells and mixing beats in the live room downstairs while Daisuke mixed his album. The live room is airtight, it is important to turn on the air supply unit in between recording takes, otherwise the Oxygen runs out, the lungs stop and then brain dies… health and safety.

Evening drew in and Oyakata appeared in a splurge of activity and within the space of 15 minutes, we were in the yard with a make shift table made from a forklift and a pallet, with two BBQ’s blazing away laden with steak and fish.  I knew it wasn’t exactly yer average BBQ when the blow torches came out. After avoiding serious burns, we hung out under the fluorescent light, shovelling rice and meat until bursting.

Extreme BBQ

The final gig was with friends at Lagg time, with Mr Moran and spider Steve guesting with covers. Highlights were a solo air guitar performance by the pub owner, twisted T-rex in a suit and the giant sized bucket of Guinness Dan quaffed. The FBI dog was in the house.

A great way to end the trip… possibly a renaissance  in the new year with man-made compadres. Although words cant really do him justice, I must say a massive thanks to my brother and gentleman Dan Moran, to whom I am deeply indebted for his support, world education and stage crooning.

Dan Moran the man from Japan..quaff, quaff - Courtesy Paul Church

After being shafted for hefty excess baggage leaving Tokyo Narita Airport, I was then told by my large, camp steward while sat on a Helsinki runway, that due to industrial action I wouldn’t be receiving my luggage in the UK. Having made the bold decision not to insure my stuff on the trip, and knowing about £3500 worth of guitars were disappearing in limbo, I felt the bile rise. After a week or so, they did turn up though via the magical DHL just in time for a  band practice.

After a reunion with the Man-made Noise boys, we crawled down the M62 last Friday through a blizzard to play at the Primrose in Leeds. It  was a nice warm up for The Sesh Xmas special on Tuesday which was extremely enjoyable, with lots of friends and a few old faces braving the cold to cheer us on for our first proper home town shindig. Bizarrely, the Dancing Werewolf made another unexpected appearance amid our version of Wham’s “Last Xmas” which seemed to please everyone.

a 4 slice loaf of bread

Spider Steve helpin out

Next month I am heading into Fairview to record a musical version of the Philip Larkin’s Mr Bleaney.

Its for a project to make an album of his works to music, headed up by local musician Jim Orwin.

…

I managed to buy enough strange Japanese tat, to avoid any Xmas shopping in Hull city centre which is a bonus, so now I shall mainly eat me ma’s famous mince pies till Santa comes.

Have a great Xmas and new year, see you in 2010.

I`ll have a pint of draft please

After taking a long journey from Kyoto to the outskirts of Osaka, I played at See Ya! a small but friendly live house where I after finishing my set, was told that my second stint would be due after a 20 min interval…..SECOND set?? So I nervously  slipped outside behind the club and started dragging out  part finished songs and a couple of covers from the depths of my mind frame to fulfill my unexpected commitment. As it happened I fudged my way through some brand new songs and finished with an ad hock looping extravaganza for which I was glad all patrons were Japanese, because the words were quite literally piffle that I was making up on the spot. .. It went down a storm tho!

After the show I stayed with club owner Hirano san and marveled at some of his vintage guitars and had a bath with a built in waterproof  TV. He took me into Downtown Osaka the following day and we met his friend who runs a little analogue studio.

Its to be noted here that I have edited this entry and removed text on recommendation of a Japanese friend as it was feared that I might be at risk from being killed…that is not a lie.

Nishinari

There is a lot of homeless and drug use in this part of Osaka which makes it so different, as the rest of urban Japan seems hyper sterilised. After eating local fried food on sticks, we stopped to have a look at his friends studio near a disused roller-coaster and then proceded to Club Tehanno where I met up with my friend Usagi Yamada, and legal alien Trevor, who documents Japans strangeness  hilariously in his blog “Englishman in Osaka”

After the gig at Tehanno (during which I was subjected to a screaming female vocalist that forced me to grab lumps of wet tissue from the toilet and stuff them into my ears) we took a train back to Kyoto, but during the journey, it stopped for a few minutes. Unfortunately that resulted in us missing the final train connection to Usagi`s house. After a brief conversation with a train official, we were being given 4500 yen (25 quid) in CASH to get a taxi and receiving humble apologies…!! If that happened in the London underground or anywhere else in the world…..not a chance!

Usagi, me and Mr Bond bar

After that we went to a tiny bar that sat no more than 4 people and tried my hand at an instrument from Hokkaido called Mukuri. A bit like a jaws harp except you look like a complete fruit trying to play it.

Playing the Mukuri from Man-made Noise on Vimeo.

In Kyoto I  also stayed at Sandalwood hostel which was pretty cool. It is run by musicians and it was great chatting for hours about all things musical and having a bit of a jam with Gin and Jumi. Gin lent me his bike to go bombing round the city…well.. pootling after I broke the chain.. and I went to a bamboo forest and a lookout point for “Momigi” (the turning of the autumn leaves to red). Its gonna be a few more weeks before the leaves are properly turning but it was still breathtaking. I met Bea Martinez from Madrid and then sat in a cafe talking existentialism..yah,yah,yah  (my only knowledge is what Dan Moran  told me, and a Jean Paul Satre documentary we watched 3 days previous)

I just finished reading a book called “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein. To keep it simple, its about how the US, the UK and the World banks have backed the destruction of  countries in need, resulting in world poverty and genocide. It sounds like heavy going but its an awesome read and if you want to have a better view of whats really going on in the world please check it out. It will change your life.

I got some extra shows..

11th Nov     Wall st sports bar – Roppongi (Japanese Music Week)

15th Nov     Velvet Sun – Ogikubo

After finishing recording some acoustic tracks for a Japanese promo CD, I had a few gigs including one at The  Sesh for local legend DJ Mak. There seems to be some great originality coming out of Hull right now and after having watched a disturbing herd of cringe worthy shite over the last 12 months or so, I can safely feel proud of my East Yorkshire roots. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a large amount of tosh kicking about.

Anyhow, much to my delight, it seems that a Man-made band has organically formed, with no MSG’s… just the odd PSP …and a bit of recreational LSD..

After starting out joined acoustically at the hip with guitars and harmonies courtesy of Lord Shaun Chance “Chanwell  III”, we have acquired the skills of beat technician Gav White (Concrete Breaks, Sorry Loves, Fonda 500, Rod, Jane and Freddie… ) and Sub frequency generator James Markham (GST Cardinals, Natural High best of breed category).

The Man-made Noise live experienced has now leapt forward and in a short time we got it together for some  shows in Nottingham, Barnsley and Manchester.  See the pics of the Night n Day cafe gig in Manchester by super photo girl Shirlaine Forrest.

Myself and Lord Chanwell played an acoustic show at Liverpool Parr street studios and afterwards I posed for a picture outside the club that hosts the legendary Cream nights. A car full of lads went by and all we heard was the beautiful Liverpudlian accent in full effect which was a sound not too dissimilar to coughing up phlegm…. “Fuggghhhhin errrbet”…class.

Me and Gav Live on stage with Dr Dot and Dragon

Amidst Man-made stuff, the highlight of the summer had to be when I joined an all star cast with electro-funk genius Dr Dot on the Sesh stage at the Hull Freedom Festival. I was drafted in to do some Whacka Chacka guitar work, while Bradford based rappers  JND and EXP whipped the crowd up with some slick rhyming. It was difficult for me and Gav to stop grinning from the point when Carl the Moog and keys specialist turned up in a newly ebay purchased black taxi to the full sized green dragon shuffling along the stage busting slo mo zombie moves. Nuts! and all that without a full band rehearsal.

So now I am back in Tokyo to do what is essentially my second tour. Unfortunately finances are such that I am alone on the trip so I am just with my Acoustic guitar, my effects and synth pedal, doing looping and beatboxing etc. I have had 6 shows so far and the reaction has been cracking. Its a shame that I am not with the full band but fingers crossed for the future eh.

Live on stage at Bogaloo, Yoyogi Tokyo

So…. last saturday I sound checked at Club Era in Shimokitazawa where I was due to headline and then went to grab some food with one of the other Bands on the bill.  On route to the restaurant, we passed a venue which I am due to play on the 20th Oct, only to find that “Man-made Noise” was written outside on the billing. A quick check up by my tour manager Kimiko revealed that the staff were waiting for me to turn up to soundcheck. What followed were a few frantic phonecalls and a few embarrassed faces and I grabbed my stuff from Era and agreed to play both shows. Luckily I was first on the bill at this venue so I was able to dash between the two. Its difficult to describe the vastness and the complexities of Tokyo and the chances of stumbling across that club, noticing the billing, then managing to play both shows to avoid any issues arising from a double booking. Needless to say, I am gonna do the lottery this week.