Weekly Blog, Monday 18th August
Justice For All Takes To The Road
As weeks go, the last seven days have been pretty special for me, as Friday saw the release of Justice For All (JFA) in the UK and Eire. Ever since I was a kid, I always dreamed of being an author, so to finally see my debut novel hit the shelves was an experience I can’t even begin to put into words (which is probably something an author shouldn’t admit to!) It’s now on sale in Asda (where it’s number 26 in their chart), Borders, Waterstones, Easons and WH Smiths amongst numerous other places, and if you’re taking the time to read this, I hope you’ll also take the time to snag yourself a copy to see what all the fuss is about!
To celebrate the launch, I headed off to the V Festival in Chelmsford with a bunch of family and friends, who as it turned out, had a few surprises in store for me. Having set up camp, I headed back to the car for our last bit of luggage (we don’t half take a lot of stuff these days – much of it 5% proof and transported in can form), and when I returned I found ‘Congratulations!’ banners strung from our tents along with an A3 colour print of JFA’s cover. I was then presented with a t-shirt that had the JFA cover on the rear, and the slogan ‘I’m the author, don’t you know!’ on the front, closely followed by a bottle of champagne. Having made a quick speech to thank everyone for making the day extra special for me, we polished off the champagne and began to attack our beer mountain in earnest (the more you drink, the less you have to carry back to the car), leaving me thinking what a great bunch they all were, but at that point, I didn’t know the half of it.
The next morning, having done my bit in the breakfast preparation stakes (I’m in charge of frying the eggs) I suddenly found myself sitting on my own in the clearing between our tents, all except for my sister, Karen, who I now realise was taking care to stay facing me at all times. Now some people might have thought that something was up when everyone disappeared like that, but I was totally oblivious. Even when Lisa asked ‘Is everyone ready’, I was still in a world of my own, then suddenly the rest of the gang appeared, all stepping out of their tents wearing t-shirts with the cover of ‘Justice For All’ emblazoned on the back. I couldn’t believe it. The fact that they’d not only organised all this, but were also prepared to help advertise my book all weekend, really knocked me for six.
And what great advertising it was – ten people wearing the same JFA t-shirts attracted a helluva lot of attention. I spoke to countless festivalgoers over the next two days who all said they’d go out and buy the book, posed for loads of photos, and even signed a few bits and bobs (and if you were one of the people I met, I’d love to hear from you via the link on my website). And as for the subliminal impact it must have had, I can only imagine. I’ll post some pictures on the site as soon as I’m able, but until then, my humble and heartfelt thanks go out to the following: Lisa, Karen, Jon, Andy, Michelle, Daz, Jay, Chris and Tom, who along with me comprised the JFA V-10! The best mates a guy could ever have!
And as for the Festival itself? Well here are my edited highlights in no particular order:
Muse – the first time I ever saw Muse was at the Norwich Arts Centre a few years ago, a former church that holds about five hundred people, and it’s safe to say that they’ve come a long way since then. Their headline appearance at V on the Saturday night was spectacular. Huge satellite dishes, lasers criss-crossing in the skies overhead, and space rock beyond compare – what a treat. And the encore was out of this world – Starlight, Plug In Baby, then Knights of Cydonia (with an intro that featured Harmonica’s theme from the Sergio Leone epic ‘Once Upon A Time In The West). Absolute class.
The Hold Steady – one of my all-time favourite bands, they were sadly only given a half hour slot, but they made full use of it by blasting out a mixture of old classics and great new cuts from their recent album, Stay Positive. If you’ve never come across them before, they’re the best bar band in the world, knocking out songs that sound like early Springsteen while a poet spins half-spoken tales of Americana on vocals – I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Kings of Leon – this band just gets better and better every time I see them. With three albums worth of cracking tunes to choose from, they didn’t put a foot wrong. Shame the sound was a bit quiet, but you can’t have everything.
Beerhenge – not a band as such, more a performance art practised by my fellow drinkers. It’s a lot like Stonehenge, only with added beer. Check out the photos next week for a visual treat.
Stereophonics – it’s only the second time I’ve seen these Welsh rockers play live, despite having every album they’ve released since their 1997 debut (they really should play more festivals!), and they didn’t disappoint. Big sing-along anthems, crunching guitars, rasping vocals, what more could you want.
My mate Andy’s dancing – we thought he was vogueing, turns out he was just trying to maintain his balance after copious amounts of Carling.
Drive By Truckers – discover of the weekend for me. Never heard a thing by them until this weekend. Southern rock at its finest (they’re big fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd), with three chiming electric guitars and two vocalists who take turns to sing lead, one with sugar coated tonsils, the other a raw southern drawl (which put me in mind of a young Mick Jagger).
The Verve – wow, what a comeback. Having missed their last appearance at V back in 1998 (I was busy getting my funk on with James Brown in the dance tent) I was eagerly looking forward to seeing them this time around, and I was lucky enough to catch a band at the height of their considerable powers. Ashcroft’s vocals were soaring, McCabe’s guitar work magnificent. With songs like Lucky Man, Sonnet, History, and of course Bitter Sweet Symphony, they had the crowd in the palms of their hands, and when the rain started to come down, it somehow made it even more special. What a great way to end V2008 – roll on next year!
Next week, I’ll still be in full-on music festival mode, as I take the Justice For All road show on to the Reading Rock Festival. The big draw for me is the recently reformed Rage Against the Machine, but there’s loads of other bands that I can’t wait to see. Reading is my favourite weekend of the year, and 2008 promises to be a good one. I look forward to telling you all about in seven days time!
Cheers,
Steve
As weeks go, the last seven days have been pretty special for me, as Friday saw the release of Justice For All (JFA) in the UK and Eire. Ever since I was a kid, I always dreamed of being an author, so to finally see my debut novel hit the shelves was an experience I can’t even begin to put into words (which is probably something an author shouldn’t admit to!) It’s now on sale in Asda (where it’s number 26 in their chart), Borders, Waterstones, Easons and WH Smiths amongst numerous other places, and if you’re taking the time to read this, I hope you’ll also take the time to snag yourself a copy to see what all the fuss is about!
To celebrate the launch, I headed off to the V Festival in Chelmsford with a bunch of family and friends, who as it turned out, had a few surprises in store for me. Having set up camp, I headed back to the car for our last bit of luggage (we don’t half take a lot of stuff these days – much of it 5% proof and transported in can form), and when I returned I found ‘Congratulations!’ banners strung from our tents along with an A3 colour print of JFA’s cover. I was then presented with a t-shirt that had the JFA cover on the rear, and the slogan ‘I’m the author, don’t you know!’ on the front, closely followed by a bottle of champagne. Having made a quick speech to thank everyone for making the day extra special for me, we polished off the champagne and began to attack our beer mountain in earnest (the more you drink, the less you have to carry back to the car), leaving me thinking what a great bunch they all were, but at that point, I didn’t know the half of it.
The next morning, having done my bit in the breakfast preparation stakes (I’m in charge of frying the eggs) I suddenly found myself sitting on my own in the clearing between our tents, all except for my sister, Karen, who I now realise was taking care to stay facing me at all times. Now some people might have thought that something was up when everyone disappeared like that, but I was totally oblivious. Even when Lisa asked ‘Is everyone ready’, I was still in a world of my own, then suddenly the rest of the gang appeared, all stepping out of their tents wearing t-shirts with the cover of ‘Justice For All’ emblazoned on the back. I couldn’t believe it. The fact that they’d not only organised all this, but were also prepared to help advertise my book all weekend, really knocked me for six.
And what great advertising it was – ten people wearing the same JFA t-shirts attracted a helluva lot of attention. I spoke to countless festivalgoers over the next two days who all said they’d go out and buy the book, posed for loads of photos, and even signed a few bits and bobs (and if you were one of the people I met, I’d love to hear from you via the link on my website). And as for the subliminal impact it must have had, I can only imagine. I’ll post some pictures on the site as soon as I’m able, but until then, my humble and heartfelt thanks go out to the following: Lisa, Karen, Jon, Andy, Michelle, Daz, Jay, Chris and Tom, who along with me comprised the JFA V-10! The best mates a guy could ever have!
And as for the Festival itself? Well here are my edited highlights in no particular order:
Muse – the first time I ever saw Muse was at the Norwich Arts Centre a few years ago, a former church that holds about five hundred people, and it’s safe to say that they’ve come a long way since then. Their headline appearance at V on the Saturday night was spectacular. Huge satellite dishes, lasers criss-crossing in the skies overhead, and space rock beyond compare – what a treat. And the encore was out of this world – Starlight, Plug In Baby, then Knights of Cydonia (with an intro that featured Harmonica’s theme from the Sergio Leone epic ‘Once Upon A Time In The West). Absolute class.
The Hold Steady – one of my all-time favourite bands, they were sadly only given a half hour slot, but they made full use of it by blasting out a mixture of old classics and great new cuts from their recent album, Stay Positive. If you’ve never come across them before, they’re the best bar band in the world, knocking out songs that sound like early Springsteen while a poet spins half-spoken tales of Americana on vocals – I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Kings of Leon – this band just gets better and better every time I see them. With three albums worth of cracking tunes to choose from, they didn’t put a foot wrong. Shame the sound was a bit quiet, but you can’t have everything.
Beerhenge – not a band as such, more a performance art practised by my fellow drinkers. It’s a lot like Stonehenge, only with added beer. Check out the photos next week for a visual treat.
Stereophonics – it’s only the second time I’ve seen these Welsh rockers play live, despite having every album they’ve released since their 1997 debut (they really should play more festivals!), and they didn’t disappoint. Big sing-along anthems, crunching guitars, rasping vocals, what more could you want.
My mate Andy’s dancing – we thought he was vogueing, turns out he was just trying to maintain his balance after copious amounts of Carling.
Drive By Truckers – discover of the weekend for me. Never heard a thing by them until this weekend. Southern rock at its finest (they’re big fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd), with three chiming electric guitars and two vocalists who take turns to sing lead, one with sugar coated tonsils, the other a raw southern drawl (which put me in mind of a young Mick Jagger).
The Verve – wow, what a comeback. Having missed their last appearance at V back in 1998 (I was busy getting my funk on with James Brown in the dance tent) I was eagerly looking forward to seeing them this time around, and I was lucky enough to catch a band at the height of their considerable powers. Ashcroft’s vocals were soaring, McCabe’s guitar work magnificent. With songs like Lucky Man, Sonnet, History, and of course Bitter Sweet Symphony, they had the crowd in the palms of their hands, and when the rain started to come down, it somehow made it even more special. What a great way to end V2008 – roll on next year!
Next week, I’ll still be in full-on music festival mode, as I take the Justice For All road show on to the Reading Rock Festival. The big draw for me is the recently reformed Rage Against the Machine, but there’s loads of other bands that I can’t wait to see. Reading is my favourite weekend of the year, and 2008 promises to be a good one. I look forward to telling you all about in seven days time!
Cheers,
Steve
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