ADAM Masterson

With the success of Gold Bug Clubs 1 & 2, and the fantastic sets from Gaolers Daughter and The Wild Wolves, Gold Bug Club #3 has another mega line up in store for us tonight, 8pm, at The Boogaloo in Highgate.

Strummerville favourite Nat Jenkins will be headlining the night, and we also have New York based Songwriter Steve Mahoney on the bill, originally from London, Steve’s only in town for a short trip, so tonight is not to be missed!

We also welcome DJs Meerkuts & Small to The Gold Bug Club for the first time, spinning discs in the late night, juke joint boogie bar from 10.30 till 1am

Here’s tonights running order…

8.00 Doors
9.00 Steve Mahoney http://www.myspace.com/stevemahoneymusic
9.30 Adam Masterson http://www.myspace.com/adammasterson
10.00 Nat Jenkins http://www.myspace.com/natjenkins
10.30 till 1am DJ’s Meerkuts & Small

The Boogaloo is at 312 Archway Rd N6 5A1 nearest tube Highgate

Admission is Free: We’re in it to win it

Lots of Love the Gold Bugs x

It was a fine day out and I’d just had my haircut round a friends house on Caledonian Road.  Made a dash from Holborne to Bloomsbury Square, I was running a little late, but the haircut and the weather had me in a fine mood.

I made my way into The Bloomsbury Ballroom. Sound-check was already underway for Mummy Rocks 2010. The Ballroom looked elegantly swelegent each table decked out in Flowers.

Rehearsals at Jones productions had gone well.  Me and Jamie Hince decided we’d do Waterloo Sunset together and I was gonna play piano for Bobby Gillespie and Sharleen Spiteri who were dueting on The High Society musical song ‘What a swell party this is’ made famous by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.

Sharleen and Bobby beckoned me up, they were sound checking this one now! I had just enough time to jump onstage, get behind the piano, and do my best not to do my Les Dawson.  

Actually we sounded good!  It had been a bit tentative in rehearsals, but the three of us had gone away figured it out and now it sounded like fun.

At the end of the sound check me and Jamie got a chance to go over Waterloo Sunset a couple of times we were gonna do it just the two of us acoustic.  People started filing in after that and I went off to find a drink.

Saw a few faces in reception Rufus Wainwright  was there and Natalie Imbruglia, a waiter handed me a glass of Champagne and I found the band at the bar writing out a set-list.  Jamie and I were gonna go on first and start the night and I thought that was grand.

At dinner I was sat next to the charming and very glamourous actress Sarah Barrand, and jeweler Stephen webster hosting the night from the stage told us all a little more about the charity and introduced a young patient who spoke about her experiences at Great Ormond street hospital.  In the end I think the night raised £95,000 for G.O.S.H

An auction then followed and I headed backstage to have a play on my guitar. I found Jamie Hince back there we found a couple of seats in a back room and jammed through the song.  It sounded mighty, Jamie had all the harmony notes in the guitar.  He was playing an old 40’s Guild and I had my 60’s Gibson SJ, we even had matching jackets by chance so we looked the part.

Mick Jones soon came round and told us we were going on, we waited in the wings while he went on to introduce us.

Everybody loves Waterloo Sunset you can see it in their faces when you start singing it.  The film producer Julian Temple was right down the front and started filming it on his phone, he jumped up on stage at one point and started filming round us.  I think he’s a big Kinks fan. I saw him afterwards and he said ‘I’m gonna show it to Ray!’

‘Bloody hell’  I thought ‘ I didn’t know I was under that much pressure!’

Jamie and I bowed to our applause, we’d kicked off the night and headed backstage for a cold beer.  We found Sharleen and Bobby back there, and we all sat down in the corridor waiting to go on again.  

We started talking about songs with only a few chords, Bobby said those songs are the hardest to write and have the best melodies.  Sharleen said the song ‘Dreams’ had only two chords in it the whole way through.  I started trying to wrack my brains, I thought of the Roy Orbison song ‘Dreams’ but that had loads of chords, I then thought of the Everly Brothers but that had at least three Chords.  I gave Sharleen my guitar and she did a great version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ sat on the floor.  Bobby then picked up the guitar and played ‘Go Your Own Way’.

It was cool sat there listening to them talk about simple songs.  They all started complimenting me about the guitar, it’s Southern Jumbo guitar that Rambling Jack Elliot used to play in the 60’s. It’s got his signature scratched into it, but I’ve nearly scratched that off from playing it so much and catching it with the pick.

Guitars are a bit like kids, you reason with them, you struggle with them, you get frustrated with them, then you take them out some place, and someone reminds you what a miracle they are, and you fall in love with them all over again.

Sharleen was called onstage, and I started talking to Bobby about Alex Chiltern the Box Tops and Big Star singer who had recently passed away.  I knew he was a fan and he picked up the guitar and played me The Box Tops hit ‘Letter’ which was pretty cool.   I still haven’t got round to listening to Big Star properly.  Bobby said start with the third album.

I then joined the band on Keyboards for the Texas hit ‘I Don’t Wanna Lover’.  The place was really swinging around, the audience were loving it.

Then Mick called Bobby onstage and I began playing ‘What a swell Party This Is’… No fluffs!  The tricky bit out of the way, the rest of the night was a blast.

Jamie came back on with an electric guitar, along with Barrie Cadogan from Primal Scream. There were now four electric guitar players onstage, and we launched into a high-tempo ‘Rocks’.

Bobby and Mick then ripped through a version of The Trogg’s hit ‘Wild Thing’ and the place went off. 

It was pretty peaceful at the side there, playing keyboards, much less involved than being up front. I found it really relaxing, but it’s weird you look out into the audience and no one’s looking back at you.  I finally had some understanding why the rest of the band always ends up hating the lead singer!  But its tough up there man… and if you ask me it’s an easier ride at the back.

The night came to it’s finale, everyone got involved onstage, and Mick Jones lead the crowd singing ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go?’.  Even Kate Moss grabbed the mic and sung a few lines.

A grand night indeed.

Adam

Arrived back in London it was raining. The first thing I noticed was I had holes in my boots. (Why do I notice things like this in London and never in New York?). I was in Acton and I was early, navigating my way through the rain, with my guitar and bag of tricks… Stopped in a Moroccan bakery to kill a little time and had a mint tea… decided I’d make my way, try and find my destination and be one of the early ones.

I had a vague recollection of where I was going but as I approached the industrial centre I drew a blank. I went to ask in a nearby studio for a clue, and saw Sharleen Spiteri of Texas at the counter. I knew we were going to the same place so I said ‘Jones Productions?’ She said ‘Yeah!’ and we went off in search. ‘I’m Sharleen’ she said putting her hand out. ‘I’m Adam’ I replied and we made our way into the matrix of the Acton business centre.

Strange little place. a real labyrinth of moroccan bakeries, catering units, and rooms with bands thrashing away with loud guitars. Each one of these we’d pass, stop and put our ears to the door and say ‘do you think it’s this one?’ listen for a bit and go ‘naahh’,

I’d been here once before round the time Mick was producing Babyshambles, he said I should check it out as a rehearsal space, but for the life of me now I couldn’t retrace my steps.

I kept saying ‘You go up a bit, then a bit more, then you turn right, then you’re there’ but this wasn’t helping. Every time we followed my instructions we came to two padlocked doors with steel shutters and not a sign of life inside.

We peeped inside one of these bakery catering places and found a stout little man with a moustache and a chef hat! He’d have given his right hand to help us out.

‘Yes I know it!’ he said ‘it’s just around the corner!’ (but there were many corners and we’d tried each one) I think he was an Italian, a real stromboli. When Sharleen asked if he knew Mick? with a guitar? he waved his arms around like an excited little windmill ‘Yes I know guitar… Mick… yes! just around the corner! right, then left then zig-zag… I’m sure!’ But I wasn’t so sure. his instructions were more confused than mine. He followed after us bless him, he was persistent. at one point I thought he’d drop his rolling pin, run back inside, and fetch a map.

We begun dialing our phones but no one was picking up.

At a loss we made our way back into the rain. Sharleen recognised a chap in a blue blazer called Jamie, they seemed to know each other and when I saw he had a guitar I knew we had another ally.

He seemed to have a better idea and pointed to another Moroccan cafe with people smoking Hookah’s on a veranda. We went inside and found Mick’s missus Miranda, her friend Tiggy and Primal Screams Bobby Gillespie.

Kisses and hello’s and the troupe made it’s way round the back to the very same padlocks and steel shutters I’d found myself at earlier but this time they were open. I’d been right all along. Happy my intuitions were still intact we went in side. Being a good time keepers a noble quality but not always necessary in a musician.