Sleeping Pills & Mother's Ruin

How To Be A Lush, Lesson 1: Never take sleeping pills on a week day after midnight. Unable to get to sleep at 3.30am (selling the flat, buying a house etc taking its stressful toll) I knocked back a couple of Tylanol PMs and a stiff gin. I’m now at work feeling utterly ropey and decided all I can manage is a bit of a ramble on here. And it’s about time I did, as I just noticed my last blog was three months ago.

So what’s being going on since February? Did A Month Of Sundays musical theatre writing workshop, run by Chris Grady (www.chrisgrady.org) at the RADA. I’m not usually one for courses, but I have to say this is one of the best things I’ve done for my creative self for years. Met some interesting and passionate people and learned a lot from some very well respected people in the industry including, amongst others, lyricist Jeni Toksvig, the general manager at The Donmar Warehouse, director Jeremy Sams (The King And I, currently at the Royal Albert Hall) and composer Conor Mitchell. It was wonderful to be immersed in a sea of musical theatre and learning, something I’ve never experienced before.

What I have learned at AMOS has been driving much of my writing since then. The most important thing though is that structure is everything. Absolutely everything. It’s pushed me into a decision which I thought I’d never make: to not write a scrap of music until the entire structure and story of the piece is resolved and complete, because it instructs and influences every aspect of the piece.

Meanwhile, The Puppy That Ate Christmas musical has begun to take on a life its own now and the workshop weekend in June is looming fast. I say life of its own, but it’s really the book writer and lyricist Andrew G Marshall who’s doing all the hard work. The show also has its first outing at a West Sussex school on the 29th June 2009, which is going to be terrifying and exciting all at once. Kids make the harshest and most honest audience, but hopefully this will serve as a safe test run, highlighting all the areas that don’t work.

Speaking of Christmas, I’ve bravely booked a venue in Brighton for Saturday 19 December 2009 with the idea of putting together a huge Christmas Variety Show, with various acts and Christmassy things and carol singing too. I’m looking for anyone who’d like to put something into the programme, so get in touch if you have a party piece that would suit a Christmas variety show.

In other news, I have a fabulous new agent in Dave Jordan at Gigz Management (www.gigzmanagement.com – check out my hot new profile!) It’s a highly regarded and well respected agency and I’ve been wanting to work with them for a long time now. It’s good to have somebody of their calibre managing my pianist work as it leaves me more time to get on with all my various music projects.

And on that note, Disney Sing It: Pop Hits is creeping nearer and nearer to completion. Most of the my music work on it is done and I’ve got a tasty composing credit on the game too, as I’ve written all the Sing It Pro vocal exercises, recorded and taught by Disney Channel personality Tiffany Thornton (The OC, Hatching Pete, Sonny With A Chance, 8 Simple Rules). The recording was so much fun and she’s absolutely adorable. So check it out when it comes out on Wii and PS3 in the Faaall (that’s Winter to you and me). There are a few articles around about it already, here’s one with some lovely screenshots from the art team... www.uk.ps3.ign.com

Ooh, and I hope you like the new-look website. Got bored with the colours and art so had a little play and stole some art from here and there, et viola! If you find a link that doesn’t work, let me know.

The sun is shining and it’s Friday. Today, I need sleep more than anything in world. But, in the words of the lovely Tiffany Thornton, tomorrow is like totally a beach day. Awesome!