#fuckingfireworks

October was a busy month, but we’re well into November now and things are quietening down. We played a short show at the Spice of Life in Soho the weekend before Halloween. TAF were hosting it, so it was a really great opportunity for them to see us live. Ville and Mat are two of the most intimidating people I have met, with an answer to everything. That said, I think we put on a good show. If nothing else, we weren’t like the other bands. We were louder and filled with excited energy. The event gave us a good idea of the other acts that TAF are working with. They were well rehearsed, that is true. We weren't, but we used the stage we were given. 

I often find it quite amusing to look over at my bandmates when they’re watching other bands, all stony faced and trying to mentally dissect what exactly this band is trying to put across with their music. It's only a matter of time before one of them will turn to me and deliver a short review of the band, probably comparing them to some drippy well known indie band. I wonder how they can enjoy anything at all, when they’re constantly picking things apart.

I will be the first to put my hands up and say I don’t know my legato from tomato. The thing is, none of that really stops me and Paul from producing songs that are strong, and catchy and well structured. I don’t necessarily believe that having a background in music will hold you in better stead of writing songs than anybody else. There are courses you can go on for song-writing. Why? Do you need someone else to show you how to pick up a pen and write things down? You have people running around, writing awful music, hiding behind a B-tech in song-writing, infiltrating the charts. Does that make them qualified to do so? I’m not sure. I don’t think a lot of the greats from history would agree either. So when I smile and agree with my qualified band mates, I’m not necessarily agreeing with them at all. For one, they aren't the ones writing the music. Secondly, they don't even want to.

Growing up, I learned the piano for years, but I could never sight read. When I went to do my grades, my piano teacher told me to just keep my head level with the music and not look at my hands. By doing this I passed. If I hadn't I probably wouldn't have. In my secondary school, my music lessons were just vacant spaces between more important and demanding lessons like Science, Maths and English. There was no funding shoved in that direction, at all. In music I didn’t touch an instrument any more technical than a hollowed out coconut. Why, from there, would I choose to study music? It was only in my late teens that I went through my own channels to learn to sing and play the drums, and even now I'm not sure why. I still play the piano too. I am not qualified to do anything really, but I do it anyway.

FUCK.