April in Paris, la troisième (et dernière) partie!

From the moment we stepped into the Montreux Jazz Café at the Gare de Lyon, nothing was like I had ever experienced a gig before. The seating area outside the front of the Café alone is larger than the space in Harrods, and the interior is bigger still, with beautiful elevated ceilings, chic diner decor, and most importantly, a stylish and perfectly sized stage with the Montreux logo emblazoned across the back. We were immediately greeted on our arrival….and I mean REALLY greeted….by everyone there! The sound and lighting engineers, the food and beverages manager, the floor manager and the front of house team all came over to shake our hands, introduce themselves, and offer their service for the evening. They hadn’t just been expecting us, they had clearly been looking forward to our arrival for quite sometime. They couldn’t do enough for us, and this made us feel very special indeed, something that can go a very long way when it comes to putting on a good show. Within a few minutes we had refreshments, an area to display our promo, somewhere to store our belongings, front row reserved seating for friends and family, and an extremely thorough and detailed soundcheck was underway. Even a trip to the toilets was out of the ordinary! The attendant was precious about my feet being on the (perfectly clean) floor while I changed my shoes, and a little girl washing her hands fixated on me putting the finishing touches to my make up, while I made out the words ‘tres Jolie’ spoken by her mother. Clearly, something special was expected from all these people, and I just hoped and prayed that we wouldn’t disappoint them.

After the sound check we were in for a lovely surprise. First, both Mike’s Mother and Sister appeared having spent a few days already holidaying in the city, followed by Sophie who arrived with some very special family members of her own. It was uncertain for a while whether she would be able to make it due to family commitments, but I’m so pleased she did. She was responsible for us being there and has been such an important part of our journey recently, it just wouldn’t have been the same without her! Another really special surprise for me was having an old school friend turn up during the set; it was the first time we had met in over twenty years….and she really hadn’t changed a bit.

It was time to begin, and the surprises weren’t over yet. As I positioned myself behind my microphone, I noticed that the many TV screens around the room (AND outside) had gone blank. Thinking they had just paused the current programming out of courtesy, I got one hell of a shock when I then noticed ourselves on all of them!! There would be people throughout the venue who would be able to see me, yet I wouldn’t be able to see them! It was a very scary thought, but I realised quickly that too long spent contemplating that would start to knock back all the confidence I had built up since arriving.

Now this may seem a little strange, but what happened over the next hour is actually a bit of a blur! The brain goes into overdrive during a gig…it’s a multi-tasking, multi-thinking, multi-thrilling experience…only this time with added multi-lingual too! Speaking in French is good, not speaking in French is bad, speaking in bad French is very bad. With this in mind, I kept it basic and let Ben translate for me…although I did manage a few whole sentences towards the end! The lay out of the Café means that not all the diners have a direct view of the stage which is why they have the TV screens, however, to my amazement it didn’t stop people from standing up and moving towards the stage to get a better view, many of whom were taking pictures and videos too. It was both thrilling and humbling, and just as I had debated in part 1, the audience were as I had hoped, extremely open to, and appreciative of our new music.

The hour soon came around, and we were delighted to be asked to play a couple of encores. It was a real watershed moment for us. You are often told in life to believe in what you do, and not everyone will appreciate what you do, but you don’t change it if it feels right, you just make it better. You have to keep searching for your audience, and when you do find it, it feels just like coming home. I felt VERY at home on that stage in Paris….so maybe THAT was my homecoming gig after all!

The gig finished with a shower of praise and wonderful compliments, and we sold some CD’s too which was lovely. The wonderful hospitality continued, and we were treated to a complimentary meal and drink which we shared while getting to know our new friends, and catching up with the old. While the Café closed up for the night, we definitely weren’t ready to, so, accompanied by my school friend we headed back to Gare du Nord in search of suitable bar to finish winding down in for the evening and take it all in! It was a huge relief to be sitting at a table in Paris, wine in hand, amongst good company, and feeling very proud to have done what we did. It was very poignant too to be sat reminiscing, not specially about the old old days, but about what we have learnt and acquired since. I have always been envious of studious and academic business types with a comfortable and regular income, but I am reminded every now and again, that just as many of them will envy what I do even more. Few well paid jobs are really that stable anymore and life can change in a heartbeat, so it’s reassuring to feel that my future is in my hands and no-one else’s, and that’s just the way I like it. Throw in a lot of faith and a little bit of luck, and I may just be heading home a little more often…..metaphorically speaking of course!

It was then time to head for a different sort of home. After just a few hours sleep we scurried for the train across the road, grabbed a couple of pastries and coffee and made ourselves comfortable on the Eurostar. I thought sleep would have overcome me, but my mind was alight with excitement and anticipation about the future of Chasing Storms. I had a very inspiring conversation with Ben about it, although we did have to amuse ourselves for a while too completing the Euro Star customer satisfaction survey.
Question: Was the reason for your journey business or pleasure?
Answer: Definately both!

I’m going to leave you with the song we closed our set with. Many thanks to Sophie and her family for all the lovely photos and video. À Bientôt!

April in Paris, la deuxième partie!

The second instalment begins somewhere on a platform in what is well known to be the busiest train station in Europe. Paris Gare du Nord is bold, bustling and hot, yet quenched easily by the effortless Parisienne cool. Now there are many words I could use to describe myself on a day to day basis, and cool is not one of them, however, I had decided that due to the current task in hand, I was in fact (for that day at least) pretty cool. Two minutes at the Gare du Nord, and my ‘pretty cool’ status was hastily upgraded to ‘über cool’ after spotting ledge front-man of Sonic Youth indie cult band fame, Thurston Moore.* I mused for a while optimistically whether he would have felt equally cool spotting Chasing Storms jostling through crowd. Probably, not.

We fell out of the station and into our hotel adjacent, and the full magnificence of the imposing Gare du Nord neoclassical architecture became apparent. It’s no match for St Pancras but it certainly beats the unimaginative functionality of Ebbsfleet. Completed 150 years ago, the facade is adorned with more than twenty statues of female figures, each representing a destination served by the terminal. Their presence dominates the otherwise uncertain atmosphere, so I drew from the abundance of statuesque confidence, and stored it in readiness for the evening. We checked in, and I checked out my pathetic French on the unsuspecting portier, who was (sympathetically) impressed.

We had allowed a bit of time in our schedule for some sightseeing, just to remind ourselves that we were about to play in one of the most iconic capitals in the world, and hoped that some of the atmosphere would rub off on us for the gig. Fortunately we were positioned within walking distance of one of my favourite parts of the City, The Sacré Cœur and Montmartre. Being the weekend, being warm and sunny, and being the first day of the French holidays, the crowds were prodigious yet calm and laid back, and entwined themselves perfectly with the gently simmering artisan vibe and culture. Ben, already very familiar with the capital (having previously resided there) remained at the hotel, so it was myself and Mike who eventually indulged in a traditional savoury crêpe whilst perched on a street corner amongst all the artists, buskers, diners, lovers, entertainers, drinkers, dreamers, chancers, 2cv convoys, lamp posts, cherry blossom, and cheeky opportunistic sparrows.

When it was time, we pulled away with ease from the Big-Top congregation; we were here to live a dream, not dream a dream. We hurried back down through the hilly streets and back to the hotel, giving ourselves an hour to get ready for the night. For Mike, this was likely a 50min snooze and a 10min shower/change. For me it was a 60 min of shower, change, decide on clothes, moisturise, log in to wifi, make-up, decide on hair, manicure, change mind on clothes, pack shoes, jewellry, update Facebook, change mind on hair, run out of time for nails (again), negotiate an extra ten minutes for more make-up, and finally, re-arrange bag to accommodate shoes with the CD’s and flyers. It’s ritualistic chaos, but adrenalin fuelled excitement too. I arrived in the lobby sporting an updo, evening gown and baseball boots. This was Paris, no-one either noticed nor even cared.

It was rush hour, though quite impossible to ‘rush’ anywhere. I had to keep my claustrophobia firmly in check as we negotiated our way decisively through the tunnels and crowded trains across the pulsating city clutching guitars, music, stands and equipment. We made it safely to the Gare de Lyon, another historical railway station of vast proportions. It’s bewildering airport-like interior and throngs of commuters had us stalled for a while but we made it nevertheless into the stunning old part of the station, and finally laid eyes on the welcoming sight of The Montreux Jazz Café, and a life-size poster of ‘Chasing Storms’. ….to be continued!

*A more detailed and accurate account of events would reveal that it wasn’t actually me, but in fact Ben who first spotted Mr Moore and his female, guitar bearing companion. Despite his lofty frame and brooding yet unassuming rock-idol appearance , his presence would have passed me by completely had it not been for the blatant show and tell. But it’s my story, my cool story, and I can tell it how I like 😉

Looking Back, Looking Up, and Looking Good!!

In exactly a week, three members of Chasing Storms will be in the Montreux Jazz Cafe in Harrods, ready to give a one hour showcase of our original music with a few covers thrown in too for good measure. At the risk of repeating myself, it is, in equal parts, both totally terrifying, and extremely exciting. We have a miniature army of dedicated supporters making the journey to Knightsbridge too, so a celebratory atmosphere will be inevitable I think, but with only seven days to go, feelings are running high in Camp Storms!
Earlier this week FB celebrated ten years by giving (nearly) everyone a video short of their very own to reminisce with. Whether you loved them, or got sick of the novelty within half an hour (the spoofs were hilarious too) mine definitely struck a chord. It started and ended with a picture of the children (growing all too fast), and included a picture of our dear departed Tash, as well as some key moments I’ve shared with friends and family. Some things were a bit random, but it was the poster of one of our first gigs (Kelly and The Footnotes at The Turks Head in Hasketon), followed by a recent status update showing our current position in the Reverbnation Jazz charts that is pertinent here.
We recently appeared at an Acoustic Showcase at the John Peel Center. It was lovely to be back in the building where we shot our video, but the best part about it was being able to watch all the other acts. Every member of the audience is there to listen to, and support the independent artists and the centre itself, so they are very attentive and forgiving. On that particular night the line-up stretched right the way across the spectrum, in both age and genre, and it reminded me of how I felt when we first began as a group. In 2009 I was a returning musician. Returning, because over a decade earlier I had all but given up on singing, having allowed myself to be convinced by others that I didn’t have what it took, that I couldn’t write decent enough songs, that I was getting too old (at 24!) and I wasn’t prepared to do ‘anything’ to get somewhere. I see unbelievable talent everywhere, in young people who have the time, funds, skills, support and dedication to go far, but many never get there (wherever ‘there’ is) and it’s this knowledge that nearly prevented me from beginning again. I’m so very glad I chose to ignore all that, you have to follow your heart, not everyone else.
The night after the John Peel was Burns night and myself and Mike had been asked to sing at a private party. As well as performing we were also invited to dine as guests on Haggis Neaps n Tatties, and consequently had the privilege of conversing with a fascinating group of new people. We were completely spoilt and felt so very appreciated. We left on such a high….because it’s the heart of what we do. While I was there, someone asked me what the plan was, and where we wanted to go. I truthfully couldn’t answer that…because last year, of all the places I could have wished to sing in, I would never have thought to include Harrods!
The plan I believe is to keep moving up, keep loving what we’re doing, and keep doing what we love. Whether we are in somebody’s home, or in the worlds most famous department store, being able to sing songs you have written yourself and songs you love by other people, whilst giving pleasure to those listening AND getting paid to do it all (MOST of the time) really is a major achievement. So, next week I’ll be looking forward, and looking into the faces of all the amazing people who have believed in what do from day one. We have already come a long way, things are looking good, the rest is all a big fat bonus!

Happy News Year!!

Yesterday we received our promotional material for what is without a doubt, our most important and significant gig to date. Even though we had kept the news excitedly under our high-hats for a while, it still hadn’t quite sunk in until I saw it in print, before my very own eyes.
It all came about after a chance gig at the Steamboat in Ipswich last year, where we had the pleasure of meeting the very delightful Sophie Pol Simon. Sophie presents a radio programme that showcases new artists from Europe and beyond, and being French herself, she has an excellent ear for music that transcends the traditional musical borders between Britain and the ‘mainland’. She was there that night to promote Singer-Songwriter Gion Stump, who had travelled over from Switzerland to perform. We were fortunate to be supporting him (along with the wonderful Reb Capper), and we even managed to sing a spontaneous duet together, that later found it’s way onto youtube! Sophie showed an immediate enthusiasm for us, and was keen to play our music on her show. Naturally we obliged, and she then brought us in the studio for a one hour Chasing Storms special. We felt hounoured to be given that sort of opportunity.
Little did we know that behind the scenes Sophie was also working closely with a very exclusive and internationally acclaimed management team. One day I received a call that threw a totally new and brilliant light on our career together as Chasing Storms and Sophie offered us a Showcase at the kind of venue you can only ever dream of playing in. In order to promote the event, they required a full HD video of us, which we didn’t yet have! So, it was all hands on deck last month to create one for our track ‘Lighthouse’, and if you happen to be inside this particular place in the next four weeks, you may catch a glimpse of it showing alongside the Elevators!
So, without further ado, it is my humble pleasure to share with you our ‘Chasing Storms’ showcase special, on Saturday February 15th, 5-6pm, live at the Montreux Jazz Cafe, situated on the third floor of Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, London. We would love to see you there!!

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

The last few weeks have gleefully whistled by (don’t they always when you’re busy) and there’s no busier month than December. Whatever your profession, and especially if you’ve got children, the festive season can itself appear to arrive like a tornado…wreaking havoc on your daily routine, your bank balance, and your sleep! So, hold onto your hats…because we’re heading for the eye!
My self contained act Vocally Vintage kicked off a whole season of Christmas Shows last month with a Vintage Tea Party in aid of leading disability charity, The Papworth Trust . It was a pleasure to be involved, a privilege to witness so much passion for such a great cause, and an honour to also find myself twice in The East Anglian Daily Times together with organiser Sarah Moss because of it. Further shows continue, and you can find these on my Vocally Vintage Calender.

In the mean time, behind the scenes, Chasing Storms has been undergoing some major changes and is evolving hugely. We were deeply upset last year to see James Murphy move to Leicester to begin a new chapter with his family. The loss of James’s multi-instrumental talents, together with his songwriting and recording skills left a large gap to be filled, and while we have been fortunate to welcome him back for our most important gigs this year, sadly the distance and work commitments have proved too much to overcome. James is sorely missed, but we are very thankful to have worked with him since 2009, and we hope he will come and guest with us in the future whenever he can.
We always knew it would take more than one person to replace James so we have been really fortunate to welcome aboard the talents of Mark Sewell on Drums, and Ben Watson on Bass. Having such a strong and dynamic rhythm section has lifted the band into a whole new dimension and broadened our possibilities and opportunities, and not a moment too soon! 2014 is going to be very exciting for us, and to make the most of that, we have been very busy filming video, recording tracks, and being photographed. To be more economical with everybody’s precious time (it is December after all!) we decided to do this all at once, and hired the beautiful John Peel Centre for the purpose. Having already been there for gigs, it was wonderful to have the place to ourselves for the evening, and if the early glimpses are anything to go by, then we will be over the moon with the finished results. We were very selective about who we involved in the project, and felt that the combination of Steve Stoddart and Paul Nicholas proved to complete a really successful team on the day. We also have an exciting extra photographer on board….but we’re keeping that under wraps for now!

Here are a couple of those glimpses from the Wandering River Lens.

And finally…what could possibly make this month even busier? Well, if you count back 16 weeks from The 2014 London Marathon, you’ll find the starting date for my 16 week training plan, right smack bang in the middle of the month, on December 15th! It was a sobering realisation that despite the big build up and all festive jollyness, it looks like Christmas itself will in fact also be, pretty sober! This brings me swiftly onto the subject of my chosen charity for the big run. I have thought so long and hard about this; there are so many charities close to my heart that I would love to support, but I feel this year that to get so personal, and to be so emotionally involved with my fundraising cause this time would in fact hinder my ability to focus on everything else that’s going on right now. So, I thought back to this Summer’s ‘Gig In The Garden’ and remembered how overwhelmed I was by the dedication shown by the long term volunteers for the charity it supported. We’ve also performed at a couple of other events this year to support them, and as they will be again be giving us a opportunity to showcase at next years ‘Gig In The Garden’ I wanted to give something back, so I have decided to run for ‘Action Medical Research for Children’. We were busking the other night for the Choose Woodbridge Festive Fridays, and all the money raised in the hour has kick started the fund. So, if you would like to add to that, I, and thousands of families everywhere with sick and vulnerable children in need of medical help, will be very grateful indeed.
Click here to sponsor me for the 2014 London Marathon, running for Action Medical Research
Thank you in advance, and thank you for reading my blog! You can subscribe easily by clicking on the link, and do feel free to leave any comments below too…I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂

Kansas Calling

I’m still pinching myself every morning since receiving the news about my place in The London Marathon, and I have to keep the magazine by my bed as a reassuring reminder that it wasn’t just a dream, but this blog isn’t going to focus solely on my running ambition; it’s about another passion of mine too….singing.
I spoke in my other blog about bucket lists, because running the London was always high up on mine, but another aspiration is to one day go storm chasing through tornado alley. When I finally had the chance to put a band together in 2009, we went through the usual lengthy task of deciding on a name. Although a challenging process, it’s a good litmus test for band compatibility and agreeableness! Naturally we passed that one with flying colours, but It wasn’t until after I’d suggested the name ‘Chasing Storms’, that I began to make the connections between the obvious ambition, and the more subliminal influences that inspired it. Joining the dots between them created a thread that stretched all the way back to early childhood, and a little motion picture you may be familiar with…The Wizard of Oz.
Back in the day when we only had three channels on the TV and filming budgets were low, you could rely on the same classic movies being reeled out over again during the holidays. Alice in Wonderland and The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe foretold the presence of Easter, while Christmas was often heralded by the arrival of Julie Andrews in one of her many guises and of course, the extraordinary Miss Judy Garland and a little black dog called ‘Terry’.
There is something undeniably enchanting about The Wizard of Oz, and it hasn’t lost any of its sparkle since MGM re-created the 1900 L. Frank Baum novel in 1939. I don’t need to list it’s many industry accolades, but for me, every time I see it, I’m just as gripped with wonder, excitement, fear and anticipation as I was the first time over thirty years ago.
As well as the glorious costumes, eye-popping technicolor and fantastical sets, I was completely seduced by the marriage of Harold Arlen’s songwriting and Judy Garlands inimitable voice, and I’m not the only one. Many singers since have recorded their own love affair with ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’. Eva Cassidy’s version is well known and has an originality all of it’s own, but more recently I discovered Melody Gardot. Her own songwriting is exquisite, and although her rendition of SOTR is fairly ordinary in comparison to Eva, the tale she tells of how the film came to influence her is really very beautiful. I’ve been asked to sing it several times myself, (as recently as last weekend at a Dinner Party in fact) and I always like to stay as true to Judy and Harold as I can, but it was at a memorial service in November 2011 when the real effect of the film struck me.
As usual, I had not planned my outfit to sing in, (what’s the point…us girls always change our minds at the last minute anyway) but as I walked hurriedly out of the door I noticed that, without thinking, I had donned a pair of Blood Red Shoes from my wardrobe. Was I subconsciously playing Dorothy, or Judy, or both!? (Incidentally next month will be the fourth successive year singing at the same service, this time with Eva’s ‘Fields of Gold’).
And so, inspired by Hollywood Twisters, a lifetime ambition, the awesome power and unpredictability of Mother Nature and the heady mixture of danger and excitement, ‘Chasing Storms’ is the living out of my own technicolor dream. In the final scenes, the revealing of the Wizard is a disappointing moment and a huge anti-climax for the audience and the characters. Many messages come through the story at this point, but the most significant one for me here, is that my singing dream is not a lone destination with a singular defining goal, but that dream is a journey, a brightly coloured path, the lessons to be learnt, and the amazing friends I’m making along the way.

If Ever, If Ever A Week There Was….

I’m in a mild state of shock..still. Last week was really quite extraordinary. It began on the Saturday, when I found myself dancing the Conga with Marion Bartoli after dinner at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Sunday at the Emirates had me wishing I’d made a trip to the bookies, as I’d made a successful prediction of the Arsenal football scores. Wednesday brought some brilliant news on the music front, and Thursday was the cherry, on the icing, of a great big fat delicious cake of a week!!
Word on the Jaffa Running Club Facebook page was that the acceptance/rejection magazines for The London Marathon had arrived at Ipswich sorting office. Suddenly I regressed to being a child of eight on their birthday, pacing excitedly around the house, pausing occasionally to peer down the road in the hope of spotting the PostWoman. When she finally appeared in my view, I actually emitted what can only be described as a small squeal. I just had a feeling about this one.
The Marathon is notoriously hard to get a place in, due to the sheer volume of entrants every year. Coupled with the fact that a huge portion of the places are taken up by charities, you are only left with something like a 1in 8 chance of success. When the magazine landed on the door mat, my hands clapped over my mouth. I could see the words ‘You’re In’ staring up at me from the floor.
Running in 2011 was unbelievable. I did it for so many reasons, but giving a good performance wasn’t one of them! This is my second chance to realise a lifetime ambition. Second chances don’t come around very often, and this one’s not going to get away!
I wouldn’t have gambled even a pound of my money two years ago on any of these things happening now, let alone all at once, but that’s the beautiful unpredictability of life.
So, another chapter, another blog, another challenge, and another journey begins. Destination Kansas. Why? I’ll tell you next time!