On to Hartlepool

Greetings all:

It is day 35 of 44 days of touring. We went out to another folk club last night. Gee, it’s the department of redundancy department. They are not the same thing. That is to say that all folk clubs are a bit different from each other, given that it’s different people that show up at each of them. It was their singer’s night last night at The Forester’s Folk club. Coatham-Mundeville was the town where it was located, which is near Darlington.

It seems that our days are filled with activity of one kind or another lately. I refer to the male part of our hosting couple as “digital” Jimmy. There are plenty of computers around here, and the wireless connection is marvelous. All of us take pictures, and Jimmy has an HD video camera that he’s been shooting our shows with. The videos are a bit dark, as the lighting is unreliable, but the end result nonetheless is a fairly accurate representation of our performance, and I think usable in the end. I’ve been using the video portion of my digital camera to shoot Jimmy, Val, and a few others. It has been surprisingly nice to see the performances the next day after I videoed them. Of course it is low resolution, and the pictures are relatively small, but there you go.

Tonight we perform for money again, and we’ll be staying with another couple. We’ll have dinner with Jimmy and Val before we leave for Hartlepool, but after our performance there Jimmy and Val will drive back to Blythe, and Kristi and I will spend the night in Hartlepool, and we’ll return to Blythe on Wednesday.

This performance business is strange still. I suppose you think that it gets to be old hat after awhile, but that is not the case with me. Every night is different. We have different crowds, different venues in different locations, and I’m not the same every night either. I’m not altogether certain why I feel different every night, but I do, and I don’t know how I’m going to feel until I’m in front of a bunch of people. We’ve had some of our best shows ever on this tour.

It’s nice staying with Jimmy and Val, because we spend endless hours talking about performing, promotion, travel, booking, playing, stage presence, etc. I enjoy the opportunity to take a look at what we are doing, which is what happens when you talk about it with someone else. I have seen friends become distressed with me at one time or another when I have gotten off into the business of music. I don’t see myself as particularly well versed in said business, but we are involved on our own level, and it does take some interest to keep going.

I have felt lately that I’m at home here in the UK, more so at times than I am in the US. I have wondered why this feeling comes over me. Truthfully, the politics, and people are different, but at the same time the modern world infringes on them, and the similarities to their perception is scary at times. There’s just been an election here, with a marked swing towards the conservatives. They are the same lying, two faced sons of bitches here as they are in the states, but everything is more understated here. I see influences of the Americans everywhere. They had Prime Ministerial debates for the first time in this latest election. It gave great fuel to the media, and stoked up the conversation a big notch.

I am a singer/songwriter here. I am nothing more, nothing less. People regard me as they will, some with respect, others maybe not so much. On the other hand, it is a great pleasure to me to be seen this way, for better, or for worse. It is all I have wanted for myself for years now, as I have labored in obscurity recording, writing songs that no one hears, and singing anyplace I could find an audience. It is why I feel comfortable here.

On the other other hand, I’m an American songwriter. I have written a few songs about this place, and they are well received. Indeed, people are surprised that I can know their feelings in spite of the fact that they wear them proudly on their sleeves. It is satisfying to find people here, as at home who I can admire, and love. Sometimes I think I will stay, even though I know it’s unlikely that I’d be allowed to even if I were serious. Kristi always does her best to bring me back to reality when I say things like that. We’ll be home soon. Then we’ll be back over here in a year or so if we survive for another year. In the meantime, I have songs to write. Keep the home fires burning.

Steve N.