Testing the speakers is a thing that must be done...

Playlist

And May...

Is away...

Up at 6:02...

The views, as I prepped for today's rehearsal...

To the machines...

...and finalising the setlist for the session, adding 8 songs to Keith's initial list of 20...

Today too, we were to test out the PA and monitor equipment, so a little more heavy lifting this morning...

At 8:40, out with Anne, taking her to Pickleball...

Then, back home, more last minute work and loading up the car...

Out to Roslin for 10:30...

Keith had brought Johnny B's monitors...

Took a while to get it all set up - of course we couldn't play "full blast" but, for the first 15-20 minutes of the session, we were able to ascertain that all was working and all was good for next Saturday...

The guys had eschewed my suggestion a few weeks ago, of setting up a gig in the back room of the Dockers this afternoon for a "dress rehearsal" - so no real way of knowing what it might sound like on the day...

I made photographic notes of what went where...

Keith had bought new strings for the bass he was gifted a while ago by the GI Joes' bassist, Ian...

...and there was a freshly baked coffee and walnut cake from Moira...

...and some uncharacteristic exuberance from drummer Johnny, with out of tune and disconcerting singing along and much between song nonsense - but we made our way through - in all, the session lasting for 3 hours, including a 30 minute cake break...

Packed up and a convoluted drive home due to traffic...

A relaxing remainder of the afternoon with Anne...

Watching "Homeland", while her casserole cooked...

Delicious...

Then, editing today's session and getting it out to the guys...

"OK here is today's session.  It was good to confirm that the speakers are all working and to be reminded as to where all the leads plug in!  Luckily most of Johnny's exuberant singing wasn't picked up LOL and all between song banter has been excluded.  There remain errors though, so please do download, listen back and rectify matters for next week. Plenty time to hone things for next Saturday.  See you all at the brewery at 12 noon.  Cheers!"

 

In the evening, even more "Homeland" as we finished off the first season...

Bed at midnight...

Weekend over...

Highlight of the Day: Rehearsing...

Today's New Music:

Some things are deserved, some things are not...

Playlist

Up very late...

...for the weekend...

Scrambled egg breakfast...

...followed by box 150, the second of Blue Note compilations...

Today, "Deep Blue: The United States of Mind"...

...covering the kind of avant garde sounds of the sixties and early 70's, mostly 68-72, that is, depending on my frame of mind, my favourite Blue Note period...

At 1, Scotland v Curaçao...

They went 1-0 up then, had a man sent off for a stupid violent challenge...

Final score? 4-1 Scotland, including 2 for Shankland...

Downside?  Billy Gilmour injured and won't be on the plane tomorrow...

Unlike nephew Olly - who is travelling with the squad for the entire tournament...

Just well he decided to give up the cello and do something else instead...

Fang popped by...

Prawn pasta tea...

Three "Homeland" while we avoided the Champions League Final, re watching the highlights later...

I was soundtracked during all the football today, by quite a few of yesterday's new intake...

Arsenal lost to PSG 1-1 and 4-3 on penalties - but, to be fair, had massively worse stats during the game, including just 25% possession...

Oh well - on the upside it avoided English clubs taking all three European trophies...

To bed at 11:30...

Highlight of the Day: A win for Scotchland and good new music...

Today's New Music:

30 years of quartetting...

Playlist

Up just after 5am...

...and to the machines...

...to prepare the release of "Drift: Thirty Slow Songs 1996-2026", as today was the 30th anniversary of the first ever recordings by Cloudland Blue Quartet...

Another new LP is coming out next Friday, so it's all go...

And I decided to add the first ever recording by Cloudland Blue Quartet as the 31st track on the album...

So had to remaster that to add it in and then do all the sleeve notes etc on Bandcamp to ready the release...

And off it went out into the world and received quite a lot of plays and a few purchases as well...

So that was good...

Then, I updated the landing page here with regard to the new release and up and coming albums from CBQ over the next few months, adding the next two annual round up albums...

"Twentytwentysix: The Originals" and "Twentytwentysix" - here are the current covers for those...

I downloaded and listened to quite a lot of new music today (see below), managing around four new releases all the way through this morning, with more left for the weekend...

Then, I picked the next CD box, number 148, a box of Blue Note compilations, from "The Best Blue Note Album in the World...Ever" through to "Blue 60s"...

I chose that last one. "Blue Note strikes a radical chord", it says on the cover...

...and it's an excellent collection of stuff from the late 60s by the likes of Herbie Hancock, Grant Green, Lee Morgan, Don Cherry and Lou Donaldson...

Tasty...

Will play that tomorrow...

Then, I had a look through the diary for the 29th of May back through the last 21 years, and these are the things that happened on this day all these years ago...

1 year ago: New CD player

2 years ago: Mary into the home

3 years ago: Anne did her back in, gardening

4 years ago: shutting down the noisy party/Anne in Oxford

5 years ago: Record fair with Dr Prog

6 years ago: Gin in the garden

7 years ago: Hospital visit

8 years ago: Listening to 1969

9 years ago: Discovered Roll the Dice

10 years ago: Finding morphine in mum's cupboard/tall chair purchase

11 years ago: Filing Classical CDs

12 years ago: Activated my Facebook and Twitter accounts

13 years ago: Surfing for German music

14 years ago: Avengers Assemble

15 years ago: Gave Olly his Cello music CD

16 years ago: JY Johnny had stayed the night

17 years ago: 3rd Shoulder surgery pre-op/Meal at new Indian place, Abida

18 years ago: My Name is Earl

19 years ago: Laird & Dog and Pam's tales of Menorca including the bleeping alarm inside the suitcase story

20 years ago: Singing new songs at home

21 years ago: Working with Ian Sclater on his LP

and, of course,

30 years ago: Recorded the first pieces credited to The Cloudland Blue Quartet

Then it was time for lunch and a new episode of "Homeland", which was good...

...and then, reading through some reviews of the upcoming Yes album "Aurora" and watching some reviews on YouTube too, soundtracked by a few tracks from each of the last few Yes albums, plus the two tracks from "Aurora" that are available at the moment...

Just after 3, it was time to go out...

We were meeting up at four o'clock with Gary and Bernie at Lothian Road...

 ...and we were joined today by Craig Masson who isn't in the photos but was there for the first few drinks before heading off...

Then, Kevin and Catherine, who we've not seen for a good wee while, arrived... 

 ...they came along to a couple of Capital Models' gigs down at the dockers in 2025 and might well turn up, it turns out, at the gig next week at Stewart Brewing in Loanhead because Kevin really likes their beer and is looking for an excuse to visit again...

So, a good time had in the bar, drinks etc...

...matching shoes and bag...

...and then, a brief walk over the road to Pizza Express...

 ...and three bottles of red wine and loads of tasty starters and pizzas and more good chat...

...were followed by a bus home...

...and down the hill...

...to find a parcel behind the door from Malcolm, with a couple of old photographs of our late 80s band, Call Me Clive  - bringing back some memories...

And, finally, time to hit the sack, because I must admit, was a little bit the worse for wear...

A good Friday...

Kind of celebrating 30 years...

Highlight of the Day: Out with chums...

Today's New Music: