Blog

If you like to read about “what goes on tour”, even when the wheels come off; if you like to hear tales of epic events both backstage and on; or if you’re into in-depth discussions of guitars and microphones — then this is the page for you! The following articles are an attempt at reportage from the frontlines of backline technology. They are also sometimes blatant plugs for New Cut Studios and the gear that we have chosen to use. They are often personal accounts of my work in the music industry over the last thirty years & more. But they are sometimes discussions of things that I think people might have missed. The stories are loosely arranged along themes but more often held together by connections that I have found surprising. I try to make them funny as well as informative, but I won’t always tell you when I’m taking the mickey. This entire series of essays was largely born out of frustration with the amount of lazy journalism and rampant plagiarism across the internet, even in orthodox periodicals. So when we find one of my little jokes or factual inventions repeated verbatim in another magazine, we can take the piss: think of it as a kind of semiotic sabotage (though less fin-de-siècle symbolism and more post war Lettrism). By & large I’m making observations that I feel are relevant and sometimes fascinating — just beware of my terrible puns. So here are my rails from the bovver tank; come with me now, on a journey through tame & spice…