Exactly one week ago today, the tickets for the 'Plectronica' event at The Clothworker's Hall' in Leeds went on sale. They were announced on the internet mid-morning and by tea-time of the same day had completely sold out.
This was totally unexpected as tickets for these events normally take a couple of months to reach capacity or somewhere close to it, but this time they went in less than a day. Astonishing!
The downside of this was that a great number of avid fans didn't manage to reserve their tickers in time, probably thinking, like me, that they would have at least a month to do so. Unfortunately this time was different and the rapid sell-out left many fans disappointed.
I've been feeling bad about this and so tried to see whether it would be possible to add a few more seats to the auditorium, but the venue management said that this would not be possible due to fire regulations. Seems we're right up against the limit.
So...what to do?
The only solution would be to stream the performance over the internet on a 'pay per view' website and we're currently looking into this possibility. I've always refused to do this for past performances as there's no guarantee of the quality of sound, vision and playing. I preferred to look at footage after the event and decide what was up to scratch or not and edit accordingly. However, in this case, due to the number of people being upset about not being unable to obtain tickets, I'm prepared to let it go out live, warts and all. I may live to rue the day!
Meanwhile, work has continued with the triple album set 'AUDITORIA'. I've now sorted the tracks into the individual running orders for the three discs, a big task as there was so much material to listen through to and choose.
'AUDITORIA' will be the overall title of the set but each CD will have an individual title. The first two discs are titled 'These Stars Are Fire' and 'Mysterium' respectively, but I've changed the title of the third disc from 'Secret Knowledge' to 'Plus Ultra', (which I believe is Latin for 'further beyond.') There are 15 tracks on each of the first two discs and 16 tracks on the third disc, which leaves 9 tracks over from the sessions for the album. These 9 tracks will form the basis of another, totally different album which I plan to put together at a later date.
Here are the track lists for each disc in the set:
DISC ONE: 'THESE STARS ARE FIRE.'
1:'WHAT FURNACE IS THY BRAIN?' (INSTRO.)
2:'MY DREAMY LIFE' (VOCAL.)
3:'THE LATEST DELAY.' (INSTRO.)
4:'ICING ON THE CAKE.' (VOCAL.)
5:'SUMMER COMES IN COLOUR.' (VOCAL.)
6:'RAINDROPS.' (INSTRO.)
7:'WEATHERPROOF.' (VOCAL.)
8:'THESE STARS ARE FIRE.' (VOCAL.)
9:'AURAVILLE.' (INSTRO.)
10:'A SONG OF HEART AND MIND.' (VOCAL.)
11:'BUGGING ME.' (VOCAL.)
12:'WONDER STREET AGAIN.' (INSTRO.)
13:'LET ME DREAM YOU FROM AFAR. (VOCAL.)
14:'WIDEAWAKE/HALF ASLEEP.' (VOCAL.)
15:'ALL HAIL THE DREAMER. (MISS FUTURAMA SMILES.)' (VOCAL.)
DISC TWO: 'MYSTERIUM.'
1:'BEYOND YONDER.' (INSTRO.)
2:'WHEN MIDNIGHT FALLS.' (VOCAL.)
3:'FOREVERTRON.' (INSTRO.)
4:'HOLY OF HOLIES. (WAITING FOR THE NIGHT.)' (VOCAL.)
5:'MYSTERIOUS MYSTERIUM.' (VOCAL.)
6:'ORSON'S GHOST.' (VOCAL.)
7:'BACK OF BEYOND.' (INSTRO.)
8:'WHO'S THAT FLOATING ABOVE THE TREES.?' (VOCAL.)
9:'MYSTERE.' (INSTRO.)
10:'ASTRA.' (INSTRO.)
11:'LUNA ROSA.' (INSTRO.)
12:'GHOSTS OF ANCIENT ORCHESTRAS.' (VOCAL.)
13:'ONLY ONE BLUE MOON.' (VOCAL.)
14:'A LONG TIME AGO.' (INSTRO.)
15:'ALONE IN LUNAR LIGHT.' (INSTRO.)
DISC THREE: 'PLUS ULTRA.'
1:'DALI'S DREAM OF VENUS.' (VOCAL.)
2:'MARCH OF THE METAPHYSICIANS.' (INSTRO.)
3:'THE SCIENCE OF EXTRORDINAIRY THINGS.' (VOCAL.)
4:'IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF NORMAL. (MY STYLE OF WRITING.)' (INSTRO.)
5:'AQUA CELESTE.' (INSTRO.)
6:'THERE IS A MOMENT.' (VOCAL.)
7:'WHIRLAWAY.' (VOCAL.)
8:'FROM ANOTHER PLACE.' (VOCAL.)
9:'THE EYE OF HEAVEN SHINES.' (INSTRO.)
10:'IN THE LAND OF FAR BEYOND.' (VOCAL.)
11:'SUPER-HYPER HOCUS POCUS.' (INSTRO.)
12:'WAITING FOR THE MIDNIGHT FLYER.' (VOCAL.)
13:'PLECTRICITY.' (INSTRO.)
14:'ROCKERS OF THE ROSY CROSS.' (VOCAL.)
15:'AN ORDINAIRY MAN.' (VOCAL.)
16:'THE LAST TRANSMISSION.' (INSTRO.)
So that, barring any last minute changes, will be the running order that listeners will encounter on the album. It's not a perfectly honed, tightly arranged album. It has many rough edges and spontaneously improvised components, but it is, nevertheless, an interesting amalgam of many facets of my music, a kind of cornucopia of styles...maybe something for everyone?
End of summer approaching fast. Already the nights are drawing in. Darkness seems to come earlier each night, as is to be expected I suppose. Every year it's the same, the cycle rolls around, unsurprising but always fresh. Time moves inexorably on.
My mother's 90th birthday this coming Friday, and a gathering of the Nelson clan to celebrate it. My mother has been a staunch supporter of my guitar playing since I first took up the instrument in the late '50s, and has equally been a stern critic of any deviation from it over the years..Synth excursions didn't go down well with Mum, I'm afraid!
Time inevitably moves on and even the young fall old before they know it. Life is, (a cliche I know,) so short, and sometimes not as sweet as we'd like it. But it's what it is, and what we do with it that counts. Spirits are lifted by Art and Music and some kind of gentle consolation is felt....