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New review of Behind Every Word at puremusic.com

This just in – a really really lovely review of Behind Every Word from puremusic.com – click here to go straight to the review.

Here’re the choice quotes from it –

“This is some of the most beautiful, deeply felt music that I have heard performed on any instrument, let alone bass guitar.”

and

“It is hard enough to make an instrumental record that holds the audience’s attention with a raft of different instruments and players, but Lawson manages to do it with one instrument (albeit modified to create many sounds) and one player.”

so there you go – more reasons, if ever you needed them, to go and buy the CD, if you don’t have it already. :o)

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Quick post from Geneva…

Sorry for lack of blog-action over the last few days – been traveling a lot, sketchy web access, and on Saturday had a FANTASTIC gig in Brescia, Italy – I’ve played there before but this was my biggest gig there so far. In the Chiesa di San Cristo, a beautiful fresco covered building from (I think) the 13th century… Half my set was solo, half with Lobelia, who was, frankly, amazing – we did one of her songs (Happy – which we also did in Croydon the week before, and in NYC), an improv thing, and she added amazing vocal loopage to a version of Highway 1, which was definitely the best version of that I’ve done since the very first time I ever played with Theo Travis, back in 2002…

Anyway, great gig, lovely time in Brescia, as always, and more stuff to tell, but I’ve just arrived in Geneva, am knackered, and need a shower and some sleeps. g’night…

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Lazy

Not listened to this for ages, until just now. What a song. What a lyric. David Byrne, we love you.

-I-I-I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Ooooh, don’t you wanna save me
I’m lazy when I’m lovin’, I’m lazy when I play
I’m lazy with my girlfriend a thousand times a day
I’m lazy when I’m speaking, I’m lazy when I walk
I’m lazy when I’m dancin’ and I’m lazy when I talk

I open up my mouth, it comes rushin’ out
Nothin’, doin’ nadda, never, how you like me now?
Wouldn’t it be mad, wouldn’t it be fine
Lazy, lucky lady, dancin’, lovin’ all the time

I-I-I-I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Ooooh, don’t you wanna save me
Some folks they got money an’ some folks lives are sweet
Some folks make decisions an’ some folks clean the streets, now
Imagine what it feels like, imagine how it sounds
Imagine life is perfect an’ everything works out

No tears are fallin’ from my eyes I’m keepin’ all the pain inside
Now don’t you wanna live with me? I’m lazy as a man can be!

I-I-I-I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Ooooh, don’t you wanna save me

Imagine there’s a girlfriend, imagine there’s a job
Imagine there’s an answer, imagine there’s a God
Imagine I’m a Devil, imagine I’m a Saint
Lazy money, lazy sexy, lazy outta space!

No tears are fallin’ from my eyes
I’m keepin’ all the pain inside
Now don’t you wanna live with me?
I’m lazy as a man can be!

I-I-I-I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Ooooh, don’t you wanna save me

Lazy when I work, lazy on the bed
Screamin’ all you like, but it only fades away
I’m lazy when I’m prayin’, lazy on the job
Got a lazy mind, a lazy eye, a lazy lazy father

Hard men, hard lives
Hard keepin’ it all inside
Good times, good God
I’m so lazy I almost stop!

*cough*

I-I-I-I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Ooooh, don’t you wanna save me

I-I-I-I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Ooooh, don’t you wanna save me

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Petition Fever

Ah, I bet whoever it was who suggested putting petitions on the Downing Street Website is getting some serious flak now from the rest of the staff there… Lots of pissed off people are venting their spleens via numerous petitions there. Some are vital, some are nonsense.

But this one is clearly the most important of all. Sign it, now!

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Busy times…

Sorry for the lack of interesting blog stuff of late. Much going on, but not really a) time to blog or b) stuff that’s bloggable.

For the last week I’ve been moving house, which has been exhausting, but also a great chance to purge all the crap I’d stored up over the years. So off went 3 bin-liners full of clothes to the charity shop, boxes and boxes of books, endless car-fulls of paper and cardboard to the recycling centre, all my vinyl to a talented E-bay-monkey-friend who’ll dispense with it all for me… I highly highly recommend having a stuff-purge if you find you’re getting bogged down with things. It’s something i should’ve done YEARS ago (yes, yes, mum, I know you been saying it every time I’ve seen you for the last decade…)

The purge hasn’t ended, and there’s more stuff to go (given that the room I’m now in is so full of my stuff I can hardly move… But all in good time.

On top of that, I’m still finalising details for the European tour in March, sorting out accommodation, official forms from the tax office so I can actually get paid in Italy, juggling canceled flights with more trips to scatter my possessions all over London.

it’s all a bit busy and a bit mad, so if you’ve been trying to get in touch with me over something, do email again, or call my mobile…

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Spoke too soon…

While tidying up today (more on that in a later blog) I found a load of copies of Grace and Gratitude! Yay!!

So it’s back being orderable from the shop, if you want a copy. Or, let’s make this easy, you can just click the ordering button here and get it for just £9 inc. worldwide P+P!





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Bass-Monkey Radio!

I often get asked by bass students of mine about where they can hear more music with interesting bass playing, so here’s a link to Bass World Radio – a Live 365 station that plays lots of bass-centric stuff, including lots of me, rather pleasingly! They’ve got a MySpace Page, and a MySpace Blog for the top 40 of that week, as voted by listeners…

Check it out!

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Grace And Gratitude Sold Out!

Grace And Gratitude is, I think, sold out on CD. I’ll have a look and see if I can find any more copies, but at the moment, it looks like the ones I’ve just put in envelopes to send out to people who’ve ordered them are the last ones I’ve got! How bizarre… I’m sure I’ll find a load of copies under someone’s bed somewhere in the world at some point, and be able to sell those on, but for now, I’ve taken it down from the online shop.

Of course, it’s still available as a download, and also from iTunes, should you want it! And hopefully I’ll repress soon enough – I like it too much not to have it available on CD. Oh, there are probably a couple of copies available via Cd Baby if you want one…

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House concerts – how it works…

Thursday night’s gig in Petersfield was fun, though to a tiny audience. Playing to little groups of people is always fun, though in a setting where more are expected, it’s not usually all that financially viable. So there’s the trade-off – fun gig, but no way to make a living. Which is where house concerts (like the one pictured) come in.

House concerts are a way for musicians to play to little groups of lovely listeners, in comfortable surroundings with lovely food and drink and make it pay. it’s a chance for people with moderately large houses to present their favourite music to their friends (unless your favourite music happens to be Beyonce, Elvis, The Polyphonic Spree or Cannibal Corpse – too expensive, too dead, too large and too loud, respectively).

How does it work? Well, I come to your house and play to your friends – either you can pay me to do it as a gift to them, or you can get them all to make a donation to make it happen… if you’re going the donation route, I’d need some kind of guarantee (which is going to vary depending on how far I have to travel to get there, and how many people are going to be there – the more people, the better the opportunities for selling CDs…)

I can bring my little PA with me, if you don’t have anything for me to plug into, so all i need is a little bit of space and a plug socket. It’s great fun, and it doesn’t take a massive amount of space – it’s doable even with 15-20 people in a moderate sized lounge.

So, if you’re interested, email me, and check out these links to a couple of american sites on how to put on a house concert – link 1 and link 2.
And this UK one from Acoustic Routes magazine – which looks pretty comprehensive.

Go on, you know you want to… i’m booking them now for the UK in april/may, and for the US in May/June…

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