DarrenPoyzer
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Blog 2007 up the down escalator
I've never been a 'recording artiste' as such, so have been a little out of my comfort zone. Having said that, what we have from this session is very exciting. Sadly, for the time being at least, we're keeping this stuff under wraps - most certainly not for the My Space Rat Race! Does that sound pompous? Hope not ... I've said for a long time that whilst they're great for networking and being heard, sites like My Space have actually stripped the core value of music, to the point that many people now pay nothing if anything at all for music, especially unsigned / non-commercial artistes. Oh well ... I can only say how very grateful I personally am to those who have purchased cd's, and may yet do so in the future ... certainly, I do appreciate this and strive harder each time to give you something special :-) dp x 19th October 2007 - Naming The Baby If anyone feels inspired enough to suggest some names for an edgy, entertaining, melodic and beautifully dynamic trio of acoustics, violin and cello, just holler. thanks lots, dp x
"Monsoon rains and cyclones have created some of the worst flooding in South Asia for nearly a decade. Floods in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal have devastated the lives of over 40 million people." - Save The Children It's the bubble we live in ... whenever I blog it's a fight always to climb out and address things in perspective. Getting over the self-importance, cutting through the urge to discuss the ongoing rollercoaster of personal depression, and actually painting a picture of human interest that embraces as much of what we are as I can. My postcards for you therefore, on this occasion with respect, are merely pictures from my own travels and endeavours. I hope you find a minute to visit the Save The Children site though, also ...
Middlewich Festival and Audlem Festivals proved to be pivotal gigs in tandem as a full-blown trio with Fluff on fiddle and Kevin Farrell on acoustic guitar. We supported Nick Harper as part of the Pollen8 event, and it was a long awaited breath of fresh air for me ... more about this to come, watch this space, we're pursuing this thing in due course!
There's something that happened here though that bodes well for future interesting stuff: Andy Farrell - that's the Falklands Veteran and poet, not the guitar dude - and I performed a song and poetry event for Tameside Council to comemorate 25 years since the Falklands Conflict. I can't begin to tell you how powerful an occasion it was, but despite the very sombre occasion the good news is that the Imperial War Museum (North) and The Arts Council are I believe going to assist in a tour to promote our war poems and songs, most likely now in 2008. July: Floods, Go-Lem System, CJ Chenier, and that joke of a Skinhead prick! Big downer this month though, and I guess you need this every now and then, was struggling to support Toots And The Maytals. They were over 2 hours late arriving in Holmfirth, so the poor acoustic guitar carrying support act (me) had to take the stage at 10pm to 500 people who'd been shut outside and were on the whole, in no mood for some blue hat dude wiithout a dance tune to his name. Got through it with some credibility, and then as I came to the end of the set got threatened with violence by a fully booted skinhead fascist prick. I guess my comments against domestic violence might have tweaked his lack of humanity into response ... I feel good about that. August: Some Nice Outdoor Gigs, Footy and Human Rights "Highlights of the event included an incredible acoustic set from Darren Poyzer" - Wrexham Evening Leader Big thing on my mind though, the takeover of Man City football club by Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-Thai PM who if all is to be believed, has a rather nasty human rights record. So, what do you do? Enjoy the football seeing your long suffering club actually win a game or two, or take issue with it all on the gorunds of human rights abuses? If only we football fans had the courage of some convictions, and yes it makes of all that anti-racism stuff look pretty pathetic now doesn't it ... thing is, like life and politics worlwide, the moment you point a finger and down tools, someone else picks them up and uses them against you. I am at heart very comfortable with my upbringing as a boy with a local football town identity, however the world has changed, we're not allowed to be innocent children anymore, everyone is having their hands wiped in the blood of the suffering, and that my friends is that way we are being forced to live.
September: Italy with Chris Difford and Friends, and other exciting things! So onwards: gigs in October with Thom The World Poet, George Borowski, Kevin Farrell of course, Wishbone Ash, Walter Trout, The Men They Couldn't Hang tour arrives soon, and there's rehearsal and recording planned for the Poyzer / Fluff / Farrell trio. And yes, it's mid-September and I sense the Summer has just arrived for a one week stay. Today is quite splendid ... dp x 13th May 2007 - Summer Brushes By To Find Me On Good Form
Work-wise the teaching remains a challenge - I've got some mentoring for my music therapy work, and I must tell you that I have one eye on a music therapy degree that could well take me to the next stage of professional development. Whether that is an area where I'll find enough work in the future, I do not know, however it would be another area on top of the other bits and pieces I cobble together, for me to keep life balance through creative and challenging endeavours. Gigs-wise, it's going great. It's amazing what confidence you can get from an inhaler! The diary is fuller now than it ever has been, I've just done some fantastic shows for FolksFest with a Summer full of potential touring to follow with them (hopefully!), and then a 12 date UK Tour with The Men They Couldn't Hang in November. In between, I have shows at Borders Book Stores, including a residency where I am inviting good friends and fellow songwriters to play in-store in Warrington. All I need now is this new flippin' album! I have come a long way though in getting my preparations in place for this ... the longer it takes me to do it, the higher I am aiming. I've decided I am just going to take this as far as it will go, which means basically I have forward momentum and I don't intend allowing it to stop. ~ ~ ~
Thing is though, it's perspective isn't it. It's an on-going war with ourselves that we fight. To take the human race forward we need technology and we need to inspire those around us, even if that means putting our foot to the floor and leaving others behind. Deep down we know that every child matters, and whether our journey takes us to the city of luxurious coccoons or a neighbouring universe, we are failing our own people. We always have done, and probably always will, and yet we call ourselves 'civilised'. Yes we are good in pockets, yet these pockets belong to the empire's new clothes ... I wonder how Tony Blair sees all that. He has played this 'caring leader' thing so smoothly, I can't help think he was modelled quite deliberately to serve our consciences and provide a distraction for those 'sinister forces' to hide behind. An agent of the CIA anyone, planted in University as one of many, funded and nursed to the top so that he one day would be able to serve his paymasters from a position of power? Such moles have been and still are being planted in many countries, ours could not possibly be an exception. His legacy? Well, it looks to me like we could be about to hit another 15 years of Tory Government. I dread to think it, we're still reeling from the last great dismantling of social fabric, what we as a people really don't need is another Thatcherite kicking. I still frequent occasional internet forums and must thank my good friend Marc Richards for drawing my attention to the following Terry Pratchett quote from 'Night Watch': "People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. So the children of the revolution were faced with the age old problem: it wasn't that you had the wrong type of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of People." To that I can only add that through music, I personally am fortunate to meet so many of the right kind of people. I can't wait for the next gig; it's a show with the Zombies on Wednesday in a beautiful and grand old theatre in Leeds. Bring it on ...
It's been gradual, at times dramatic, overall very un-nerving.
So what's been happening? Well, yesterday after a few tests and results, I've been told I've had glandular fever. And I'm asthmatic. And to add to the mix, there's a good chance there's allergic reactions to something going on that have just added to the woes of recent times. I have tried to write and record something new, and let's be honest I've really failed on that score lately ... thing is diagnosis does ease the spirit. In my case, I hope now I can free up a little of that spirit to once more step forward. And with the forthcoming shows, especially the Men They Couldn't Hang tour in November, there's lots to look forward to with confidence and excitement! So there you go ... a liitle self-pity and plenty of ego, but hey it's my blog, what you expect? :-) >>> A BIG word of thanks to everyone who has made the gigs so special this week. Kevin Farrell and myself ALWAYS appreciate your love and respect. Thank you ... dp x
Like many these days, our family, held it's own during a broken parental relationship. It's easy to blame people for that, and if I'm honest one of the things that cuts me still is the pointing of the blame finger that exists in our family. I guess forgiveness ... oh hang on, I've worded all that below, read on if you must. You just gotta find strength from somewhere haven't you ... this little lad Noah, like the other children we have amongst us, Zak and Sanjay, is a source of our strength right now, a great comfort for my Mother who loves being Grandma, and my sister 'Auntie' Alison. Friends and Family ... yep, you need 'em! dp x 29th March 2007 - The Last Blog ...? Y'know ... So, what have I got to say? Well, lots, loads of stuff, reflections and thoughts come and go everyday; it's like having a bath full of the things but with no plug in the hole. Maybe I'll just save what I have for forthcoming gigs, maybe I need to get back out there and bleed for real again. It still hurts and all ... losing Jasmine in the way I did, being unable to forgive someone is one of the heaviest things to carry, and maybe there's something in that religious doctrine about forgiveness that makes sense after all. It doesn't read right now, but maybe, at some point, who knows ... Religion keeps on affecting all conflicts in my mind. It shouldn't I guess, but when I was a kid, my Dad and two baby brothers were taken from us, all in very tragic and difficult circumstances, and all through those years I carried the brainwashing of a Church based school: Lord's Prayer daily, Church visits etc etc. Despite all the promises that teaching brought, there was nothing in our times of need. And you know, people with religion can't really accept that can they, it's so difficult for them to even to consider that all is not quite what they say it is. Not that I hold it against anyone ... it just is, and religion is more often than not borne out of the plight of desperate people who need answers and faith systems when all else around them is so very wrong. My problem: I was educated on a faith system that just couldn't get it right. Not for me anyway. And yet, when you are the parents of a child, the place you want to send them for safety and security, for the tender loving care and sense of morals, you look to a Church based school. Maybe I'm just one of those who felt through the grid ... maybe it's a numbers game ... maybe 'God' delivers more children than 'he' takes away and that's life people, celebrate it for what it is. Today at college I had a bit of a turn ... bad headache and aching pains all over, felt quite poorly actually. Came home, went to bed and slept. When I awoke it hit me that I could have simply died in my sleep and been none the wiser. The fact that I awoke means I have something left to do: it could be to inspire one or two people to do worthwhile things with their lives, or to endure some kind of great personal suffering where I get to know the answers to life's uncomfortable questions, it could be anything, but whatever it is, I guess it's meant to be and so it shall. The children at Delamere School are always somewhere in my thoughts. I was advised in a recent music therapy session that if I listen to them, they will show the way. These kids have issues way beyond mine ... I've decided that I need to listen more, then listen again. Until next time, whenever that may be ... I'm off to sleep again, for the goodness of the soul. See you 'on the road' ... dp x 16th March 2007 - London, Manchester etc
When you peep only occasionally into the realm of capital city, you can't help notice how multi-racial London has become, more so than I ever remember. Not that that's a bad thing, for I truly believe like millions of others that gradual integration across cultures is a good thing for all. After being hit by how easy a target for *terrorists cities are, you don't need to be consumed by this for too long before you've got to ask why on Earth would *freedom fighters (*correct as your newspaper tells you to) want to murder people on the tube? Well, people, there's a dark side at work and it wears the disguise of processed news and filtered contrasting opinion, just to keep us a further step away from finding the truth ... there are deeper layers, not quite David Icke's reptiles, but there's darker shit pulling strings and feeding on fear. Trust me on that one, I'm crazy, and I've seen all the Star Wars films ... and shit.
I couldn't quite deal with the Harrods schizzle though, that 'Hard Rock Cafe' thing but a lot more over the top, with fur and purfume attaching itself retro stylee to the songs of our childhood. As if something so commercial could ever be one and the same with the music in your soul ... no, no way, you gotta get in the zone and stay with the music. Difficult though ... I mean could such a collection come together without big money? The fact is you have all this necessary history that is ours wrapped up in this uncomfortable environment, where those who patrol it's establishment borders jump on you with disgust and the baseball bat of utter contempt, should you break ranks and be in any way rock'n'roll, or indeed outspoken against the nouveau trendy. In a nutshell, focus on the guitars, feel the magic, listen to the music, rock the casbah and sing from the heart. The exhibition fantastic, the rest, bollocks. Not even a memorial to Dodi and Diana could slow my speedy exit. Now that's another story, but it's nothing new: the heirarchy of empires in slaughter conspiracy? They've all got murder on their hands, just peel back the canvas and follow the bloodline. ~ ~ ~ I'm not sure why exactly I was going to write about Manchester. Maybe it was because I went to see my footy team at the weekend, and yet it proved to be so instantly forgettable. It's an eye opener though, seeing the 'real thing' compared to the TV version, how the two are worlds apart with thousands following the roots of their working class culture, whilst exotic gladiators are wheeled in from foreign lands to compete for elevated god-like status. And all around, everything is covered in cheap tomato ketchup cliche, and we lap it up, over and over. Back for another fix? My team are truly, truly poor, but yes, I'll be back. There's something deep, passionate and in my breeding that says I should get one over big style on the tribe that lives just the other side of that hill. So poyzerworld spins on. I will wake each day, fight those little trauma demons and tempt them back into the box, allowing me to consume and exhale a little while longer on Planet Earth, with my layer of skin and human resemblance to help me blend in with the rest. It's the same for all of us, come on, be honest - we're all aliens, each and everyone a bit pissed because our spaceship's gone missing.
I guess in a way you'd have to be a Jam fan, or totally moved through heart and soul by some musical movement, to get the gist of why this is strangely significant. My live experience of The Jam was one gig only in 1981, and so important was it to me that I kept that evening sacred, never to go back to see another show, but to let that special thing remain so forever. For many of us The Jam's music promoted strength through collective spirit, community and the combination of inspired youth and social awareness. Thing is for me, and many others, this spirit was very much diluted when, in late 1982, Paul Weller left the band to pursue a solo career. The rest as they say is history - Weller was credited as principal songwriter and so made very good with the royalties, and despite being quite tepid at times without this original line-up, his solo career has been meteoric. But what of the other two, and for the rest of us who kinda went along with this original 'spirit' and allowed it to change our lives? Well, that all started to affect me again in a strange way that night in Hastings. Jam bassist Bruce Foxton has been guesting with a few bands along the way to keep his mortgage paid, none quite as obvious as a Jam tribute band though. Indeed, for 15 years he's been the bassist for one of my other favourite bands 'at the outset' Stiff Little Fingers. And so this has all come to another poignant moment today, with news that 'The Jam' - yes they have the rights to the name apparently - are reforming, with Foxton and Buckler teaming up with, not Weller, but the 'Weller' from the very Jam tribute band I saw in Hastings 6 months ago. And it's big news - the forthcoming tour is bound to make massive waves on the UK live scene, yet whether they are all positive remains to be seen.
The Jam had a message, it meant something, and I believe that to be true and from the heart. But you know, sat here after all these years, I know I'm a better person and have led a decent life because of this, however I'm not really sure I remember what exactly that message was. I think my proudest statement though, is that it lives in my own songs, and it's still very much from the heart ... Check out The Jam Tour 2007 here. My very best wishes and good luck shouts go to Rick, Bruce, keyboards guy Dave Moore, all those making this happen 'backstage', and especially to Russell Hastings, the guy who after many years treading the boards as a Paul Weller tribute artiste in that very band I saw in Hastings, will get a remarkable opportunity to be frontman for 'The Jam'. My commiserations however, to the bassist of that same band ... I hope they've looked after the lad, I reckon he'll be gutted.
www.youtube.com/darrenpoyzer . www.myspace.com/darrenpoyzer ps I've been a cheapskate, they're approx 45 second to a minute samples from the dvd. As it happens, I've just watched some of the Global DVD for the first time in ages, and I am really happy with it, it's a refreshing good view, even if I say so myself! So, here we go ... how about I put complete footage of all 14 songs online? Aren't I lovely ...
The good news I guess is that I finally got round to sitting in front of a microphone for some recording this week, and even though I really don't think I hit the mark and produced anything magical, I've a good idea what I want to do now. Problem is, it could take me forever. I can't believe how I suffer from such low confidence sometimes - is it that though, or just a totally unrealistic expectation? One good thing that has happened alongside this is that my good friend Rory Ellis called me from Melbourne Australia on Monday ... he's back here touring soon, and I really look forward to having more of the kinda laughs we had when touring Scotland for a week last summer. If you have a listen to Rory's recorded songs, you'll notice that he has set a level of absolute outstanding achievement in his work, so when he offered me a few tips, I was more than ready to listen. As Rory says, when you record something, you're on the world stage, and therefore you have to mix it with the Sprinsteen's of the world, you have to be that powerful. I kinda like that ... someone will obviously disagree, however I think if you wanna be heard, you gotta aim high. Either that, or you just chill and enjoy ... I'd kinda settle for a bit of both. And along came another boost, a lovely message from Felice Wechsler out in New York - turns out she's playing my songs at work and there's an appreciation thing going on. Music turns little things into great feelings. So anyway, there's no feeling sorry for myself - indeed, with all the efforts that I've put into teaching this year, working alongside the traumas that some young people unbelievably go through these days in England, I need a few days recouperation, and some special time with special friends. And let's be honest, despite a few days of gales and a weekend of snow, we've had an unbelievably mild and refreshing winter so far ... keeps that seasonal depression well away, and we're getting ever so close to Spring again. dp x
So today, with extra workload due to my covering for a colleague in college, it's been a busy if somewhat more mentally relaxed day than of late. Must make note to self: next year, don't leave it 'til the last. I will though ... I am hoping that this year's blog will be at least as well recieved as last years, although I must admit to a little paranoia over the self-indulgent aspects of blogging. I do try to read other blogs and find many to be either too self-indulgent, boring and lifeless, of plain lifeless. Make another note to self: entertain boy, entertain ... I think however I may have wasted this week's energies on a message board rant, digging at the new 'Super-Casino' in Manchester. A friend of mine who is an occasional happy gambler, was busy echoing the carefully prepared publicity spin to show his joy at this thing being built in Manchester. I couldn't help myself ... here ya go:
I kinda feel for the kids whose gambling addict parents will put the heating money, the rent, the Christmas present money, and everything else that could go towards functional upbringings, into making this profitable for the suits and the crimelords
I honestly can't see how our society, in such a bleeding state that it is, can honestly be offered a casino as an antidote ... this country has turned into a lottery merry-go-round and with the greatest of respect, we need answers and solutions, not gimmicks for the business class at least Manchester already has the guns and the drugs ... we won't be needing to worry about an influx of that kinda shit because it's already here ... very nifty of London to avoid this kinda nonsense ... the Dome will probably get a nice Disney contract now, just you watch ... It's very easy to call people irresponsible Dom, yet for many gambling is an addiction that has to be fought, not taken advantage of and seeing as every working class family is continually being pressured and ripped apart by the rising costs of anything that some big cheese can make more money out of, then more and more people are succumbing to desperation by it's very name 'super-casino' this is merely a marketing ploy to sell yet more fools gold, to take more blood out of the people of this country and pump it by the bucketload into the pockets of the establishment heirarchy bascially mate, to you it's a hobby (and I respect your rights to a hobby) but to me it's the continuation of a nightmare wasn't the whole idea of the national lottery to aid good causes? where's that incentive go to now then, when lottery sales in Manchester disappear ... do we then get less lottery money for Manchester based projects? legislation to take bookmakers out of run down estates and reduce the drinking hours (replacing them with non-alcoholic social centres) to help alcoholics are long overdue and looking more and more distant as a society we've given up fighting rape, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction, gun crime, gang warfare etc etc ... it's all slowly but surely being allowed in, finance and legislation moving not to reduce it, but to apply tax and / accomodate it within budget
How's that for a rant - entertaining enough for ya?
Someone was telling Saddam jokes in college today. I'm currently listening to 'Lost In Music' courtesy of The Fall. It's been a very windy day here in England. And I've given up on this idea of recording a new album at home. I'm booking studio time and letting someone else tell me I can do better and do re-take, re-take, rewind, re-take. Have I got other things to say? Yes, but not right now. I am a fat lad who needs exercise, so I'm off to the gym to listen to some really shite disco music and be distracted by either lust or disgust courtesy of somebody's licra. luvetc, dp x See Previous Archived Blog > Here < |
5th December 2007 - Studio News 
15th Sept 2007 - Pocket Full of Postcards 
Breath of fresh air did I say? How on earth have I turned into an asthmatic? Grrr ... sigh.
I guess I'll make my own great sacrifice, write a song about it and go to the match feeling good about myself ... yeah right, if only I could write the song that puts this into words, maybe it would help a little. Maybe ... or is that my self-importance getting the better of me again?
And I seem to say it every year; I am most certainly a seasonal responder, not just because I get a little down during Autumn and Winter, but because of the surge of life I get during this time of year.
World-wise we here in the UK have a couple of things at the top of the news at the moment; one being the imminent departure of our Prime Minister Tony Blair, standing down after a run as one of our longest serving 'Labour Party' leaders - yeah right - and the other being the kidnappijng of a 3 year old girl whilst she took a holiday with her parents in the Algarve. To lose a child is no way to suffer, as my family and I know too well, and so it only goes to distress me when I see people rally round such a tragedy today, when you can be sure that come tomorrow the cries of hundreds of thousands of children in poverty and war-zones across the world, will once more be ignored because we have a new series of Big Brother to attach our whimsical minds to.
21st April 2007 - Life's Rollercoaster (Part 9,673) 
1st April 2007 - The Last Blog ...? Due to the fact that I'm drawing the blog to a close for a while, here's a lovely story to head the page. My brother Stuart is a great inspiration to me: 2nd Degree Black Belt, Martial Arts Tutor, and yet he's one of the nicest, most peaceful and loving people I know. The picture you see is of his little boy Noah. Beautiful stuff indeed ... :-).
Ah yes, London ... it's good seeing Tina (my sister) and nephews Zak and Sanjay, even though I can't get my head around the place. The tube, on one occasion back in the day, brought a sense of excitement for me, and yet ever since that first time it's been a cause of great discomfort. It's probably the volume of people - there is so much space on this planet and yet we choose to squeeze up real tight, as if drawn together by some massive insecurity complex only to realise that some of us are the opposite end of the magnet. Becoming more and more claustrophic these days, I fail to see any other reason for this.
I met Sanjay for a visit to the 'Born To Rock' exhibition of legendary guitars at Harrods which is a touring collection, due in Paris soon, of some of rock history's most magical historic implements. It was great to see Rory Gallagher's original Fender Strat in particular, and some more unusual arty type guitar shaped things. There's some cack too - album fillers! - however overall this is one awesome exhibition to see and take in before it closes, and this canvas of music history becomes fragmented once more. See you in Paris then ... 
19th February 2007 - The Jam or not The Jam? 
In the cold light of day, I guess (with respect girls) that most of us who go to these gigs will individually be middle aged men stood around trying to reclaim a little of that youthful rebellion, a little of that collective adrenalin that we had before the 'wife and 2.2' came along. Together though, with or without Paul Weller, I truly hope that our music movement, which went a long way to shaping the social conscience of many British working class families over the years, will once more be strong ... will once more give us direction and passion. And maybe a little pay day and some much deserved magic for Buckler and Foxton, the two who Weller will never be able to replace, whether he publicly admits it or not. I do so hope in that spirit however, that this reformation won't miss Weller! Oh the dilemma of reforming a band ... 
15th February 2007 - Bloody Flip - Recording at last?? 
1 February 2007 - That Taxed Feeling 
"more desperate people putting their credit limit dribbles into the pockets of those who give nothing in return ... and odds on Manchester will also now be the first city to run legalised brothels 
what's wrong with investing in schools, community centres, youth clubs, rape crisis centres, drug clinics, hospitals, care homes ... all these things provide employment but with the added bonus of stifling our society's slide into utter piss 
it's all bollocks and I'm an opinionated gobshite"
18th January 2007 - Blackpool F***in' Tower