Summer's Here

Summer Part 1 

(June / July)

So into Summer we went and what a busy time it is turning out to be with various gigs with Back to the 80s, Rollacoaster and even some solo performances. Sometimes they all merge in to one but here are some higlights from early June. 

Rockin' out with Back To The 80s at The White Hart in Newmarket.
New website no up and running:
www.back-to-the-80s.co.uk

The calm before the storm at The Hilton Hotel, Park Lane with Rollacoaster

Holidays - Lanzarote

Yep thats a GnT

Yep even I go on holiday and just a week for chilling, reading, swimming, writing (yep wrote three songs in the week) and copious amounts of Gin. Well it is a holiday so why not. I love to visit Lanzarote as it's chilled and we stay just outside of Puerto Del Carmen in a villa which is just far enough away from the action but close enough to get into town for some fun.

Mr Hutchinson Chilling (He's older than me!Sacre Bleu)

Evening by the harbour

No comment!

Saffron Walden 8 Day Weekend

July saw the Saffron Walden 8 Day weekend which is an event held every 3 years. It's a great celebration held by the town to raise money for charity and it's the first time I got to book most of the acts. A whole week of celebrations and even got our own Larissa Eddie to suet with Matt Cardle, Back to the 80s to support Bjorn Again and the final night bill of Nik Kershaw, Chesney Hawkes and Heather Small. Introducing also The Scarlet Starlets, watch out for them over the next coming months:

Matt and Larissa in Soundcheck

Larissa Eddie

Larissa Eddie with her band

Back to the 80s from the stage (behind the keyboards!)

Ran to the centre of the stage for this one!

Bjorn Again

It's not the Ritz but hey there's a fridge full of cold beer!

So Blondie

So Blondie, post performance Photo Shoot

Magic, A Kind Of Queen

The Life Of Riley

The Life Of Riley

Bavarian Twist

The Scarlet Starlets

Heather Small in soundcheck

Nik Kershaw and Chesney Hawkes in Souncheck with our Julie

Smile Boys

Festival Rig

As we have been performing Festivals over the last two months for those of you that keep asking here is the keyboard festival rig

From left to right, The bottom keyboard is a Roland Jupiter 80 the most recent addition to the party. A revamp on the old Jupiter 8 this has to be the best synth I have ever had, Roland sounds and depth plus the for an on the road keyboard the most user friendly! Sounds are the best especially the Strings and Brass. On top of that is the Korg Triton Extreme which now is the oldest member of this particular rig. Still great for sequences, drum loops and the more "dance" orientated sounds. Might be retiring this at some point and replacing with the new Dave Smith Prophet 12. To the right on the bottom is the Korg SV - 1 stage piano which has a great piano / Rhodes sound, It's the limited edition version with reverse keys and I am very fond of this because it was the first thing I played when recovering from my accident in 2012. A very special place in my heart this piano for sentimental reasons. Finally on top is the Roland Gaia synth which again is great for lead lines, synth pads and sequences. The "tap" button means you can arpegiate live with the drummer so it sounds mechanical whilst still having an organic control of the sound. I left the "Keytar" at home

Fire Elephant and The Darkside Owls

Watch this space, all will be revealed in the coming months and blogs.