Pianist | Keyboard player | Teacher

Very rock and roll start to 2020

piano at Shenck studio
My desk last Wednesday morning, at Shenck Studio in Amsterdam

The first week of 2020 saw me travelling from London to Amsterdam, to record some songs with a singer I haven’t worked with since [unintelligible]. Ideally, before recording, I’d know the songs well—and maybe even gigged them for a while. Not so, this time. But I did have a couple of days to think about them.

On Wednesday, I laid down parts for four tracks which are being mixed this week. Here’s a clip of me recording one of those, with a riff heavily influenced by American saloon bar piano and/or Fleetwood Mac/Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Very satisfyingly nailed this in one take. No left hand required…

And here’s a video of all the keyboards I used that day—including an actual Rhodes piano and a real Hammond organ!

So many keyboards. So little time.

On Thursday I took the day off, and walked round Amsterdam (not at all conspicuous—a guy wandering alone through the red-light district), and spent a couple of hours at the excellent Van Gogh Museum. (Warning: Tickets must be purchased online in advance.) This painting made me stop more than any other, painted during his stay in the asylum.

almond blossom - Van Goch
Almond Blossom” by Vincent Van Goch. There is something utterly captivating about this, for me.

Then I had to make it back to France for a gig on Saturday—a private party and singalong. No photos of this, but it went really well, and gave me a few new songs to add to the set list for this year. I also came away with a new recipe for a cheese and curry tart (the secret is the mango chutney on pastry you have to blind bake first).

And finally—I joined Instagram. So I’ll be posting there instead of on Facebook from now on.

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