This is my attempt at Toria’s, the beautiful wee tune written by Laura Wilkie. You can hear it on the glorious CD by Kinnaris Quintet………NOT Quartet. To be purchased here……..https://kinnarisquintet.bandcamp.com/releases

Here it is on the War Pipe!!! Hope you likey.

PEACE OOT out there Earthlings!!

This morning I asked for help from my good friend Lorne MacDougall. He happily obliged, of course he is a generous soul. We messaged back and forward for a bit, after a while he replied …..‘ here is how you will repay me……’ He sent me a picture of a guitar and asked if I would teach him to accompany ‘the Famous Batavian’ in DADGAD. Now, I’m assuming this is the Gordon Duncan tune that he’s talking about but it could well be an Indonesian slide?!?! Anyway, the combination of cutting a deal with Lorne, the sound of running water from the bathroom and the impending downfall of humanity made me think……….”WHO RUN BARTER TOWN?………..WHO…..RUN………BARTER ……..T…O….W……N?????”………..Well, we do! I think it’s a great way to support each other and our community. Trade skills, share abilities, help each other out with all things new and alien, swap skills!! We should be able to trade with each other. Just like in Mad Max or Waterworld, just without all of the cool shit and explosions. This morning Lorne helped me with my Sibelius crisis, so I’ll help him learn the accompaniment to his favourite Indonesian folk tune. While there is no certainty of when we’ll get back to work and be able to start earning money again, why don’t we try and create our very own BARTER TOWN ?………again without all the cool shit, violence and explosions!

Where we’re going………we don’t need no money!!!!!!!

Just a wee thought for the day! Peace out people of Earth and mind yon Zombies! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️😈

Hello People of this now stranger planet.

I tried making a video to let you know what was happening but I’m shite at it. I know we have a lot of time on our hands now but it was getting ridiculous how many takes I was up to. So…….here it is. Regarding Live Streaming concerts, there are a few things to mention. The first thing is that we are waiting for a piece of equipment to arrive that will allow us to do this well. I know folk are streaming things on phones and laptops etc, which is cool and I love that everyone has become more resourceful than ever, but I have an idea in mind and I really want to do this as best I can. I feel like if I’m going to charge people for something, it has to be worth it. So that’s the first thing……….

I had initially wanted this to be a project in which everyone was an equal. We would all be providing a platform to help each other. I want to create a good quality concert series and be able to split the money evenly so that everyone has a bit of income whilst we’re all out of a job. I had planned to do our first Live Stream this Friday but it’s had to be postponed for a wee while. Which brings me to my 2nd thought …………people’s safety. A few musicians that I had asked to be involved have either just flown back from another country or, are at a higher risk of becoming ill. Given that this is the case I’m having to rethink the idea of bringing people together in the same place. My partner is pregnant too so her safety and the babies safety is the most important thing right now. The situation is obviously becoming more severe by the day and it will only get worse before it gets better. The fact that we’re heading towards a potential lockdown situation could mean that streaming gigs may not be possible. Regardless of this, myself and Chris are continuing to make plans and better understand how we do it. So we’re aiming towards having it up and running in the next wee while, but not at the expense of people’s health and safety. If we have to remain in our houses for a while then I may only be able to do a few live gigs things with Fiona……never really done a gig with her before so that could be worth a pound or two! I’ll also try and create tutorial videos and other stuff to begin with. So, we aren’t at a standstill, we’re still going to be creating, we’re just proceeding with caution! I’ll keep you updated with where things are at. You’ll all know as soon as we’re going to go live!

I’m also currently putting together a book of my tunes. It will contain 40 tunes. It’ll contain a mixture of tunes that have been recorded by bands such as Treacherous Orchestra, Old Blind Dogs, Kinnaris Quintet, Symbiosis ……….and some that you’ve never heard. This will be ready for pre sale in the coming days. The book will be ready in a few weeks.

I’m also currently setting up a Patreon page. I’ll announce that as soon as it’s good to go.

So, last but not least………stay safe, don’t panic, make sensible decisions, manage you’re anxiety and stay put while this washes away. Find things to do in the house you’ve been meaning to do forever, take up that hobby you keep going on about, READ – cause reading is good for our brains, talk to folk on the phone like you used to do, create, write, paint, dance, spend quality time with those that you love the most……..look after each other.

Love to you all. Peace out!! ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿