Of Albums, Jet Lag, and Tuppence

As you folks hear about Gary recuperating bravely from knee surgery and about Andrew slaving over a hot radio & press promo campaign for True Margrit's imminent release (THE JUGGLER's PROGRESS) you might ask: where the hell is Margrit? Why, I'm in England! I've been here about 36 hours (I think...jet lag is no joke, friends) . Don't worry though-- before I left I did my part for the launch, too: I booked a big ol' chunk of the upcoming tour ( some fifteen shows, roughly). No no no, I 'm not bailing--just taking a wee break in Great Britain before the big plunge into the mad rock tour! But I sure am one lucky singer songwriter to be part of such a great team. YOW! The show goes on because we are all, each of us, completely FIRED UP about the new album. And ALBUM it is--not just 13 songs we happened to record for some tally on an archival document--nay, naysayers! We all played our little hearts out for each song. Then, each song was given special attention, wined, dined & overdubbed upon ( or not) as was required. And the loving care that went into the actual recording process would be difficult to articulate, calculate, tabulate, or emulate. Gary toiled tirelessly with all the mad skills he brings to the table as a veteran recording genius to make all our performances and groovy overdubbed trinkets shine in the best possible light. Seriously. The results you will hear and must judge for yourselves, But you may find it sounds/ feels/ tastes / even looks like we made... an ALBUM! ( ESPECIALLY when you listen to REAL AUDIO--and not just mp3s--and hold the artwork in your hot big/ or little hands). Just saying.

Anyhoo. Back to England.

After arriving on English soil, Sarah & I were whisked to Milton Keynes area where her relatives reside and where we crashed into that special kind of slumber only a transatlantic flight can bring on. We awoke vaguely refreshed and guess what? I went and sang at Wolverton's Craufurd Arms Monday night open mic!! Unfortunately we didn't have the camera last night, but we went back today just to get some pix to show you the location. If I play at any more pubs or other types of venues I will bring the camera and get some shots or video next time. But the night was one for the ages with all kinds of colorful ( or should I say colourful) characters, tunes, beer, and British camraderie ( and even some drama--some very drunk blokes came and interrupted the open mic, but were dealt with fairly handily by the regulars of this nice little scene). Why, I even ran the sound for the open mic host's set (his name is Gary--a different Gary of course). They didn't have a piano or keyboard, so I was forced to play guitar --an instrument upon which I'm not the most proficient (but I did my best). IN my jet laggedness my guitar songs came out kind of slowly mournful. Interesting. But I really enjoyed hearing live local tunes. I especially was affected by a fellow named Peter and his sorrowful lament about the untimely demise of his cat, Tuppence. There really aren't tunes by that name in the USA. I'm glad I dropped by.

ps the Feroglobin ad is included to amuse TRUE BLOOD fans. Cheers! oxox