ADAM Masterson

On my way to Camden for ‘Sensible Sunday’s’ at The Lock Tavern, starts at 3pm through till 11pm DJ sets from Danny Boy and Tom Frog, I’m on at 7.30 get down there early for a sunday roast!

Been having a Dubliners phase in the new year. Bryan Nipsy from The Smokey Angle shade came round for dinner last Sunday and we had on all these Luke Kelly sides. Been listening to him a lot this week. ‘Travelling People’, ‘Black Velvet Band’ and ‘I’m a Rover’. Brian also played me something I hadn’t heard the bands ‘Christie’ and the tracks ‘Until the Dawn’. Great song. Sounded like the best thing from Neil Young I’d never heard. You should def check it out.

Been putting together the bill for the Boogaloo this week, bands ‘Gaolers Daughter’ and ‘Why Tiger Why’ are confirmed and it’s on Feb 11th.

See you at the Lock!

Adam

Good end to the year with me opening for The Rifles at The Boogaloo Dec 23rd. Turns out Joel lead singer is mates with all my old school pals. Small world. A couple of them came out for the show and I saw mates I aint seen in ages. A good thing at Christmas. I liked Joels band The Rifles, be seeing more of them in 2010.

Gigs are coming in for the New Year. I’m playing ‘Sensible Sunday’ 10th Jan at The Lock Tavern in Camden Town get down there early… 7.30 I’ll be on, my mate Tom Frog will be
DJing gonna be a great night!

Also down for The George Tavern in whitechapel Jan 15 with the focus child girls putting a bill together gonna be on around 10pm, and Jan 22nd I’m playing ‘Cariad’ at The New Cross Inn in New Cross Gate, get you times for this later

Had a lovely Christmas with family and friends. Love to you all.

Have a great night tonight wherever you are, here’s to an incredible 2010!! And let’s get at’em!

Adam

Gig last night was cancelled due to snow, i found out in Kentish town trudged all the way through the snow to Camden Town no cabs no trains no busses disaster.

Anyway all back on for tomorrow, same deal on around 8 o’clock opening for The Rifles at The Boogloo weather permitting

Adam

Opening up for The Rifles this Monday 21st Dec on between 8 and half past, I’m told the nights sold out but if you call Boogaloo in advance on 020 8340 2928 there may be some tickets left.

Played Boogaloo this wednesday gone, tried out a new song called ‘Hooked On You’ seemed to work.

Looking forward to Christmas, recovering from christmas party here at Royal Oak, my pal Tom Farrer caught up with me at the do he’s back from New York and has booked me to play his night at ‘The Lock Tavern’ in Camden, Sunday Jan 10th so there’s my first gig of the new year!

Seasons greetings and see you soon

Adam

Got a couple of gigs coming up at the Boogaloo in Highgate. Tomorrow night (Dec 16th) I’m supporting Nic Dawson Kelly and I’m back at the Boogaloo Monday night December 21st supporting The Riffles. Also booked my own night there Feb 11th so put that one in your 2010 diaries.

Been playing lots of events lately. The one at the Cardinal Cafe on Victoria street was for a big catering company, artistically a bit weird, playing to lots of people eating canapes and not seeming to pay you the slightest bit of attention. At one point I turned my back to the audience to fetch a sip of champagne and saw in front of me the great byzantine facade of Westminster Cathedral lighting up the Victoria night. ‘If I can’t sing for the corporate world in front of me’ I thought ‘I’ll sing for the angels and saints behind me’. In the end I didn’t do too bad at all, and one shouldn’t complain about this type of work. Just as the church needs to pay the builder to fix the leek in it’s roof, the musician needs to pay the cobbler to fix the leek in his boots.

The following week was a different case, I turned up at Metropolis studios in Chiswick not knowing what to expect, for some reason I had an idea I’d be playing a birthday party. It turned out it was an event for a dating organization, for people who hadn’t met each other before and were all single. I thought ‘I’ve only gone and got myself a bloody grab-a-granny night’ But no, what a lovely bunch of people and what a great night it turned out to be, there were folks in there 20’s who’d turned up looking for someone. After a couple of tunes I thought this is going well. I did some on the piano and by the time a got back on the guitar they all formed a semi-circle round me it was like a proper gig. I don’t know if any of them fell in love but you never know.

I was sad to hear about the passing of Liam Clancy. What a powerful singer, what a voice. I always thought I’d meet him you know, somewhere in Greenwhich village, I always thought of him when I went in the white horse Dylan Thomas’ bar, maybe cos I’d seen him having a pint in there in that Dylan doc. Now The Clancy Brothers can join Thomas in that gallery of legends.

The Boogaloo is at 312 Archway road N6 5AT nearest tube highgate, and tickets for me opening for The Rifles on 21st Dec look like they’re gonna sell out so try in advance.

Adam

The So So Glos have left us for New York, we had a tea party for them yesterday at the royal oak.  The cleaners have been in today and there’s a peace to the place tonight.

Playing a private party tomorrow (thurs 26th nov) at Cardinal Cafe 80 Victoria Street opposite Westminster Cathederal, will let you know how it goes.

Friday night I’m playing at the New Cross Inn in south London there’s a babble of bands playing and I’m gonna go on for a few songs around 10ish.

If you’re in the hood come by for a drink

Cheers

Adam

Went off to see a bunch of my mates play at Cable Street Studios, first up were Smokey Angle Shades, then the Wild Wolves followed by a band I hadn’t heard of called ‘Make Up’ formerly called ‘Cheka’.  Really good night.  I’m putting a bill together for a christmas party at the Boogaloo in Highgate, Monday Dec 21st.  I asked all three bands if they wanna join me I’ll keep you in the loop about this.

For the most part in jet lag land, wishing I was in private jet lag land.

Adam

I’m headed out to Newark airport. Been given The Big Pink’s ‘A Brief History Of Love’ and Florence and the machine’s ‘lungs’ to listen to on the plane. Saw Florence play at Bowery Ballroom here in Oct and liked. Been listening a lot to Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’. Heard it once when it came out, but put it on me I-tunes recently and find myself listening to it over and over. Love ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Reckoner’. Also been listening to Jay-Z ‘The Blueprint 3′.

First time I heard ‘Empire State Of Mind’ was in the back of a New York Taxi, it had just come out and the driver had it on. I asked him to turn it up and he cranked it to the top, we were driving from Brooklyn into the city cross the Williamsburg Bridge. Won’t forget it.

Never listened to much music on the plane. Was sat next to Matt Tong the drummer from Bloc Party. What a lovely bloke, we chatted for most of the flight. We got a bunch of mutual friends and had been introduced a few years ago at a Zutons gig in London.

Matt said he’d been living in Berlin since then and was now residing in Brooklyn, he’s off to asia but will be passing through London in a couple of weeks and we’re gonna hang out.

Got straight into things in London. Met up with my flat mates at the Old Blue Last in Old Street. The So So Glows were playing checked out there set. Turns out there staying with us at our place. There from Brooklyn so it was kinda home from home. We went back to the Royal Oak, at one point this weekend there were 17 people staying over, there’s only meant to be six of us. Royal Oaks starting to look like the set of the young ones.

Adam

My friend Anna Gabriel has directed a new music video for my song ‘Can’t Control Myself’. Really pleased. Anna’s done a great job. Our pals Tommy and Mary Kate came by. They loved the vid and are gonna feature it on their site ‘The Free Style Life’. Tommy went out and got us all a bottle of champagne to celebrate, it was my last night in town, so we went out on a high.

Went for drinks and eats round the corner on Ave C, my pal Joe Arthur text and said I should come over and see him at his studio before I split.

Next day, I bundled my stuff in my case, and me and Anna took a taxi out to Red Hook Brooklyn.

Red Hook’s an abandoned kind of place, industrial warehouses, a ship yard on the water, when me and Anna arrived we were dwarfed by the RMS Queen Mary 2, the last remaining transatlantic liner docks here and towers into the sky. This is where the mobster Joey Gallo the ‘jukebox gangster’ was born and operated, imortalised in that Bob Dylan masterpeice ‘Joey’ from the Desire album.

The sun reflected hard off the east river for my last day in New York. Joe came out to meet us and it was big hugs. He walked us through a mechanics yard into his place, I’ve been to a few spots that Joe’s lived now and there all like walking into his subconscious, all his painting looming at you from the walls, this ones like a bat cave where you wouldn’t know if it’s night or day.

Joe’s building his studio, his bedroom’s the live room, there’s a bath tub in the hall, and a vocal booth through one of the rooms.

Joe walked me an Anna into the control room and stuck on one of his tunes. Sounded great, real lush production I think he said he recorded it in the Catskill mountains with Garth Hudson from The Band. I asked him what the tune was called and he said ‘The Dream’s Still The Same But I’ve Changed’. He then stuck on something he’d written and recorded the night before, this time with programed drums and loops, me and Anna looked at each other when it come on and nodded… it was good. He said it was called ‘Horses’. It was inspiring seeing Joe in his home, his bunker, his recording studio, his record factory. I’ll take this thought back to London.

We went out for Coffee nearby. Joe had come to my last show at Googies Lounge, we spoke about the gig and Joe had some kind things to say, said he couldn’t understand why I don’t have a record out.  Joe’s a believer and I love him for that.

I had a flight to catch from Newark airport and Joe drove us back into the city.  He played another record he made earlier in the year and it blew me away.  The first tune he played was ‘Boogie Christ’ or ‘The Ballad Of Boogie Christ’, he’s talking about making the Album into a film with Anna so watch this space.  The next tune was called something like ‘come on the revolution’, a really long piece- musically it put me in mind of Dylan’s ‘Hard rains a gonna fall’.  I’d like to listen to the music again on my own, but I think Joe’s found a real vein here and is making some of his best music.

Joe dropped me out on 1st Avenue and we said our goodbye’s.  I’m feeling really optimistic about returning to London, feeling a strong presentiment of something good.

If you haven’t heard the music of Joseph Arthur, I highly recommend it.  Listen to a tune called ‘Enough to getaway’.  Then work through that album ‘Nuclear Daydream’ and ‘Redemption son’.  Songs like ‘Honey and the Moon’ and ‘In the Sun’ which Micheal Stripe and Chris Martin covered for Hurricane Katrina, are modern classics of our times.

Anna Gabriel has directed a video of my song ‘Can’t Control Myself’ follow here for more details will be up on website soon!

Adam