Engine Punk

There hasn't been much mention musical content on this blog recently but this is for a very good reason. True to the do-it-yourself anti-establishment philosophy that underpins (some would say undermines) the Engine Punk ethos, I'm having a go at making music myself. I haven't mentioned this before because - whisper it - I'm not actually very good at it yet but I have played in public to a bunch of very supportive friends. Somehow, at Newquay Tretherras School, they gave us music lessons without actually teaching us any music. I never learned to read music or understood musical structure. Music has played a big part in my life for many, many years and I particularly appreciate live music and still like to dance whenever I get the chance, even though at times it seems socially unacceptable to do so now that I am 45 years old. As the years went by, the feeling grew that I lacked something with regard to music. I knew what I liked and often heard tunes in my head, espe...

On Friday night during my regular guitar lesson with Ellis of LSG, a musician to his fingertips, reckoned I was ready to have a go at recording. I’ll always be a bit rough and ready (“Musics for zeros, noise is for heroes” – The Damned) but I thought why not? During the session (!) I made lots of mistakes but Ellis made it sound brilliant. I need to practise my lead. And the timing of the intro was rubbish. It wasn't "1,2,3,4" but more "1,2,3,4,5". I know there's a fifth count when The Ramones go "1,2,3,4" but this was more Corporal Jones than Dee Dee Ramone. Anyway , by overlaying different tracks and letting me loose on his bass guitar and then working his magic Ellis turned me into a rock god! That’s the way it feels anyway. Thanks mate! Then on Saturday morning I finally got the illustration for the back of The Horsepower Whisperer right. I’ve been wrestling with this for months. During June I worked up a picture of an Allosaurus riding a st...