Light up, light up.
My good friend Michael Walsh has gotten me into some sticky situations in the past, but this one could potentially be the stickiest. He has managed to persuade me into taking part in the British 10k Run in London next Sunday, helping him represent his charity of choice, the Samson Centre; a voluntary initiative of the MS Therapy Group (Guildford) that aims to establish and maintain a day-centre dedicated to the treatment and support of Multiple Sclerosis in West Surrey.
There is no doubting the worthiness of the cause, but charity endurance trials are not my speciality. I have quite happily played in football tournaments, performed at gigs, baked a cake and hiked around the Surrey Hills in a dress and tights before, but the last time I tried anything truly strenuous I failed horribly. Last summer I entered a sponsored swim at the infamous Pells Pool in Lewes to raise money for the pool, the hospital and the football team. It is a nightmarish place; Olympic sized and fed from a freshwater stream, enabling it to be colder than the sea. I felt thoroughly sick after both times I went into it and managed a feeble 5 lengths in total. Fortunately a lot of people sponsored me lump sums rather than a fixed fee per length...
I'm not much of a long distance runner. At primary school I was nearly lapped in an 800m race, and it's not really gotten much better since then. As this run is under a fortnight away I decided it would be a good idea to start my training yesterday. A hearty evening jog down from my flat to the Marina, up to the end of the breakwater and then all the way back to the Palace Pier to finish. Dressed in t-shirt, shorts and my ragged astroturfs, it was going to be great.
Here is a brief summary of my initial thoughts from the early stages of the jog:
1. I need some actual running shoes, as these astroturfs are making my feet hurt
2. I need some new astroturfs
3. I'll have to wait a few months to buy them because...
4. I need to buy some new walking boots, a new sleeping bag and maybe a tent for August and those things cost crazy money!
5. I hope that's not a stitch...
It was a painful start, and I wasn't a particularly happy bunny by the time I reached Dukes Mound. Fortunately, as I came down from there towards the Volks railway station I happened to bump into Clare Silver and Emma Combes which was lovely as I haven't seen much of them for the last month or so. After a brief chat whilst jogging/dancing on the spot, I was back off and up onto the breakwater. This encounter was revitalising. It may be an idea to arrange for there to be some charming girls (or excitingly dressed boys) stationed along the route, perhaps a couple every kilometre, in order to give me much needed morale boosts. If this could happen I would be extremely grateful.
The breakwater is awesome, especially when sunny. I wonder how the fishers would feel about people going up there, taking up valuable space for just sitting, reading and eating cookies? That is a project for another sunny evening no doubt.
As I set off back the way I had come I became more conscious of my heavy breathing and sweating. I could honestly not tell if I was sweating or crying, such was the volume of moisture trickling down from the corners of my eyes. We McIntosh are a moist bunch unfortunately. I feel guilty for ridiculing Ivan Ljubicic for wearing his headband now, and am considering utilising one myself.
Eventually I made it to the Pier, having been in perpetual motion the whole way which I was fairly proud of. As I walked back to the flat with the summer rays fading across the sea, I felt as I had felt on the first day I moved to Brighton. The feeling of relaxation, the sense of casual occasion, of extended holiday. It was back and it felt good. Endorphins are lovely things.
Upon getting home more sweat than man and consulting one of the myriad maps in our living room, I discovered that my route had only constituted 5k. I would have to do that distance twice over, back to back, in one go. Arghghghghghghgh.
More training sessions are required. I will hopefully be able to persuade some to come get joggy wid it on Friday evening before I head up to Nottingham on Saturday for Michael Walsh's birthday. He told me to watch The Hangover again before I head north. I am apprehensive. I hope he doesn't plan to put things in everyone's drinks.
In the meantime, it would be great if you would consider donating some money towards the project. You can donate money to the cause via my justgiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/james-mcintosh11one/
Please be generous :) xxx
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Tuesday 21 June 2011
My Own Trumpet
12/06/11
I am currently sitting on a leather armchair which I have occupied for the past few hours, as Olli Daffarn works hard at straightening out Mike Sykes' vocal take. This weekend, as well as playing host to an annual footballing event (which this year had a particularly unfortunate result), has seen the Red Dragon Diamond Club's first ever recording session take place. The band has camped out at HL Studios in Totton (just outside/inside of Southampton) since Saturday morning, recording what will be our first single and b-side release. All terribly exciting, especially with so many of the Club having never experienced recording before.
You can see highlights of day 1 by clicking here! Pictures so far from both days can be perused by clicking here!!!
As Olli bravely forges ahead with his mission, and Tim and Lib venture out to try and procure late night snacks and supplies, I am left to sit here in what I imagine is very similar to a nuclear/anti-zombie bunker and muse about musical matters, especially since I am too tired and hungover to do anything useful.
I have been involved with a modest number of musical projects over the years. Today is a day which teeters on the brink of the future, and so is an opportune moment to look back in retrospect at these projects. The hangover is always a vehicle for introspective backwards glances. Backwards I glance then, to the very first musical misadventure...
Frankie Solo
With a name pilfered from a pub sandwich board, this was the infamous vocal quartet that set the corridors of Ash Manor Secondary School ablaze, with a propensity to steal and manhandle other peoples' songs with a vicious abandon unheard of until the arrival of the X Factor. The original line-up; Frankie, Solo, DJ Franko and Duck Tiny, mainly performed a capella with a Rolf Harris vibe and released a single album, Streetwise, on cassette. The line-up was trimmed down with the disappearance of Duck Tiny but boosted by musical instrumentation in their live performances. The legacy of this quartet lives on in a series of videos on youtube taken from their career-defining performance at La Casa de Hawkins. I'd like to think that this group has lived on through each of my subsequent musical projects.
Philanthropy
This is where it started to get a bit more serious. 3/4 of the original Frankie Solo lineup joined with Graham Pether on bass to form a band. Early on Duck Tiny was replaced by Dan Hertogs on drums, and it was from this that I first got a taste of the murky world that is the gigging circuit. Starting off focusing on an alternative rock side fuelled by a love of the White Stripes, Ash and the Datsuns amongst others, we eventually moved towards a style that was more reminiscent of Radiohead and Portishead (at least I think we did), expedited by the addition of Olli Daffarn into the mix when I moved away to uni. He was originally there to cover for me when I was in Exeter, and to beef things out when I was back but he soon became a very important and integral member of the band; his technical skill and sonic gadgetry proving to be key in the band's progression. We recorded a couple of albums and played gigs at exciting venues such as the Kentish Town Forum and the Garage. You can listen to our albums here and watch a live video for the song Rapport here.
21/06/11
This post is taking quite a while to write up it would seem...I have since returned to Brighton. Both RDDC tracks have been successfully recorded. All that is required is mixing ahead of our eventual single release in September. Jollification.
2-Shay
2-Shay started when myself and former Frankie Solo colleague, Steve Kelly, began to write immature political raps during our free periods at college. These intellectual seeds flew in the air like those of the dandelion, until one Philanthropy practice saw the melding of said lyrics to a RATM aping guitar line. A full track was born and unleashed to great surprise at a Philanthropy gig a few months down the line. Fuck The 3World received its first airing an a legend was born. From time to time the ugly head of 2-Shay would rear itself; slipping into Philanthropy recordings and performances here, leaping about at parties there, but never was the 2-Shay project fully realised. Recordings of several tracks have been made, with some available to listen to here! One day, I am sure we will see the full potential of this political hip-hop monster unleashed and unmatched, but until then we will have content ourselves with shouting, "UHHHHHHHNNNHHNHN," really loudly.
SmoothGay
This is the real deal. Upon leaving for university I fell in with some real scoundrels. The best kind of scoundrels it turned out, and I was very fortunate to have encountered them. SmoothGay was the band I formed with my university pals, fuelled by the '8 cans of Castlemaine for £5' deal at the nearby 24/7 Esso garage. Our early output displays this influence quite explicitly, but it was only once I signed us up to perform at an Indie Society gig in 24 hours time, without much of a catalogue of music to draw from, that we really took off. After writing a set within the time limit, we performed with critical acclaim to a receptive crowd. It really looked as though things were going to take off, but at our second gig we fell flat. Perhaps it was the formal surroundings (an Indie Society formal event...), perhaps it was our overexuberant imbibing pre-gig, whatever the case, the magic had gone and that was that. Despite the death of our commercial career we struggled on gamely, eventually recording the genre-defining album Do You Remember SmoothGay? over the course of a day (naturally) and holding a launch party the same evening. The album has gone down in history, and can be heard in all its lo-fi glory here! This summer, me and Mike will hopefully be reconvening to record the follow-up sophomore release. Keep your ears peeled...
The Sneaky Frog and the Scoundrel
Named after a piece of music from the FFIX soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, this was the band myself and Tim of Philanthropy formed once ensconced within the surrounds of Brighton. The band consisted of the two of us, teamed up with two fellows Tim had come to know through his humanities degree, our overall friendship cemented through our 5-a-side football team. Understandably, the songs were usually to do with humanities or football, or indeed at times a wonderful mix of the two. The music this time was of a more poppy, indie stylised nature, perhaps reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian or the Arcade Fire or Talking Heads? Possibly not. Anyhow, it was nice and accessible. We performed a couple of gigs and recorded a 5 track EP, Me Too, I'm A Painter! with Olli Daffarn. This release is easily the most profitable record I've ever contributed towards, as somehow we managed to sell one at a gig for £40. Sensational. You can make your judgement on whether or not it was worth the cost by listening here! Sadly, as Tom and Ed both opted to leave Brighton following the end of their MAs, we were left without a band once more, and a wonderful song about Dick Van Dyke unplayed. Perhaps...one day...
The Red Diamond Dragon Club
And so we come to the present... Kanye would be proud. Taking on electro and folk and injecting something of a party vibe, we have ourselves the RDDClub. Two gigs down, a third coming on Saturday. It is, quite literally, all go. I think that so far we have managed to work the 9-piece thing without sounding too much like an Arcade Fire rip off, or a Polyphonic Spree rip off, or a Slipknot rip off for that matter. I think we need to explore the nu-metal territory at some point though, sooner rather than later.
I am currently sitting on a leather armchair which I have occupied for the past few hours, as Olli Daffarn works hard at straightening out Mike Sykes' vocal take. This weekend, as well as playing host to an annual footballing event (which this year had a particularly unfortunate result), has seen the Red Dragon Diamond Club's first ever recording session take place. The band has camped out at HL Studios in Totton (just outside/inside of Southampton) since Saturday morning, recording what will be our first single and b-side release. All terribly exciting, especially with so many of the Club having never experienced recording before.
You can see highlights of day 1 by clicking here! Pictures so far from both days can be perused by clicking here!!!
As Olli bravely forges ahead with his mission, and Tim and Lib venture out to try and procure late night snacks and supplies, I am left to sit here in what I imagine is very similar to a nuclear/anti-zombie bunker and muse about musical matters, especially since I am too tired and hungover to do anything useful.
I have been involved with a modest number of musical projects over the years. Today is a day which teeters on the brink of the future, and so is an opportune moment to look back in retrospect at these projects. The hangover is always a vehicle for introspective backwards glances. Backwards I glance then, to the very first musical misadventure...
Frankie Solo
With a name pilfered from a pub sandwich board, this was the infamous vocal quartet that set the corridors of Ash Manor Secondary School ablaze, with a propensity to steal and manhandle other peoples' songs with a vicious abandon unheard of until the arrival of the X Factor. The original line-up; Frankie, Solo, DJ Franko and Duck Tiny, mainly performed a capella with a Rolf Harris vibe and released a single album, Streetwise, on cassette. The line-up was trimmed down with the disappearance of Duck Tiny but boosted by musical instrumentation in their live performances. The legacy of this quartet lives on in a series of videos on youtube taken from their career-defining performance at La Casa de Hawkins. I'd like to think that this group has lived on through each of my subsequent musical projects.
Here is a video of one of our original songs, complete with dance routine. It is both informative and entertaining.
Philanthropy
This is where it started to get a bit more serious. 3/4 of the original Frankie Solo lineup joined with Graham Pether on bass to form a band. Early on Duck Tiny was replaced by Dan Hertogs on drums, and it was from this that I first got a taste of the murky world that is the gigging circuit. Starting off focusing on an alternative rock side fuelled by a love of the White Stripes, Ash and the Datsuns amongst others, we eventually moved towards a style that was more reminiscent of Radiohead and Portishead (at least I think we did), expedited by the addition of Olli Daffarn into the mix when I moved away to uni. He was originally there to cover for me when I was in Exeter, and to beef things out when I was back but he soon became a very important and integral member of the band; his technical skill and sonic gadgetry proving to be key in the band's progression. We recorded a couple of albums and played gigs at exciting venues such as the Kentish Town Forum and the Garage. You can listen to our albums here and watch a live video for the song Rapport here.
21/06/11
This post is taking quite a while to write up it would seem...I have since returned to Brighton. Both RDDC tracks have been successfully recorded. All that is required is mixing ahead of our eventual single release in September. Jollification.
2-Shay
2-Shay started when myself and former Frankie Solo colleague, Steve Kelly, began to write immature political raps during our free periods at college. These intellectual seeds flew in the air like those of the dandelion, until one Philanthropy practice saw the melding of said lyrics to a RATM aping guitar line. A full track was born and unleashed to great surprise at a Philanthropy gig a few months down the line. Fuck The 3World received its first airing an a legend was born. From time to time the ugly head of 2-Shay would rear itself; slipping into Philanthropy recordings and performances here, leaping about at parties there, but never was the 2-Shay project fully realised. Recordings of several tracks have been made, with some available to listen to here! One day, I am sure we will see the full potential of this political hip-hop monster unleashed and unmatched, but until then we will have content ourselves with shouting, "UHHHHHHHNNNHHNHN," really loudly.
SmoothGay
This is the real deal. Upon leaving for university I fell in with some real scoundrels. The best kind of scoundrels it turned out, and I was very fortunate to have encountered them. SmoothGay was the band I formed with my university pals, fuelled by the '8 cans of Castlemaine for £5' deal at the nearby 24/7 Esso garage. Our early output displays this influence quite explicitly, but it was only once I signed us up to perform at an Indie Society gig in 24 hours time, without much of a catalogue of music to draw from, that we really took off. After writing a set within the time limit, we performed with critical acclaim to a receptive crowd. It really looked as though things were going to take off, but at our second gig we fell flat. Perhaps it was the formal surroundings (an Indie Society formal event...), perhaps it was our overexuberant imbibing pre-gig, whatever the case, the magic had gone and that was that. Despite the death of our commercial career we struggled on gamely, eventually recording the genre-defining album Do You Remember SmoothGay? over the course of a day (naturally) and holding a launch party the same evening. The album has gone down in history, and can be heard in all its lo-fi glory here! This summer, me and Mike will hopefully be reconvening to record the follow-up sophomore release. Keep your ears peeled...
The Sneaky Frog and the Scoundrel
Named after a piece of music from the FFIX soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, this was the band myself and Tim of Philanthropy formed once ensconced within the surrounds of Brighton. The band consisted of the two of us, teamed up with two fellows Tim had come to know through his humanities degree, our overall friendship cemented through our 5-a-side football team. Understandably, the songs were usually to do with humanities or football, or indeed at times a wonderful mix of the two. The music this time was of a more poppy, indie stylised nature, perhaps reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian or the Arcade Fire or Talking Heads? Possibly not. Anyhow, it was nice and accessible. We performed a couple of gigs and recorded a 5 track EP, Me Too, I'm A Painter! with Olli Daffarn. This release is easily the most profitable record I've ever contributed towards, as somehow we managed to sell one at a gig for £40. Sensational. You can make your judgement on whether or not it was worth the cost by listening here! Sadly, as Tom and Ed both opted to leave Brighton following the end of their MAs, we were left without a band once more, and a wonderful song about Dick Van Dyke unplayed. Perhaps...one day...
The Red Diamond Dragon Club
And so we come to the present... Kanye would be proud. Taking on electro and folk and injecting something of a party vibe, we have ourselves the RDDClub. Two gigs down, a third coming on Saturday. It is, quite literally, all go. I think that so far we have managed to work the 9-piece thing without sounding too much like an Arcade Fire rip off, or a Polyphonic Spree rip off, or a Slipknot rip off for that matter. I think we need to explore the nu-metal territory at some point though, sooner rather than later.
Tuesday 7 June 2011
The Neil Warnock Trophy
I have been mulling over various different topics for posting recently; an article on wrestling following the death of the Macho Man Randy Savage, a top 5 fictional drunks, a top 5 musicals, profiles of various music projects, a treatise on the art of boules...all of these worthy topics, but I have thus far struggled to find a sweet little moment in which to compose both myself and them.
Instead, my hand has been drawn for me. This Saturday, the 11th of June, shall see once again the forces of good and evil descend on that most provincial of English cities, the fair Exeter of Devon. It is, of course, the annual rematch between two of the most mismatched rivals in sporting history, between the ridiculously named and ridiculously attired Team Laser Explosion Mob and the far more brave and handsome Brotherhood of Justice.
The rivalry has been alive and well since 2006, its seed germinating when team captains Oliver Tiberius Ezekiel Jarman and, yours truly, James Douglas Iago Chrysanthemum McIntosh, extended their acquaintance within the confines of heated Past and Present seminars. Those were heated times, leading to heated confrontations on and off the field.
They have had a fierce history; In 2007 we played for the Richmond Road Invitational Cup. In 2008 TLEM fought back from 0-4 down to claim the Steve Sidwell Memorial Trophy. In 2009 the BoJ managed to sneak the Bruce Grobbelar Trophy (I think) through a bit of the old "next goal wins it" magic. 2010 saw the unofficial stag do victory head to TLEM. As you can see, the results have tended to swing towards Ollie's team more often than not.
What the Brotherhood of Justice lack in the results department, they usually make up for in the popular support market. This is a team that represents not only the people, but both the land of the people and the animals of the people as well. They can usually count on lots of lovely and attractive people turning out to support them. These people are often their seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth men, giving a strong numerical advantage to them in their quest for that elusive minx, Glory. It just goes to show that quality is probably more important than quantity.
Instead, my hand has been drawn for me. This Saturday, the 11th of June, shall see once again the forces of good and evil descend on that most provincial of English cities, the fair Exeter of Devon. It is, of course, the annual rematch between two of the most mismatched rivals in sporting history, between the ridiculously named and ridiculously attired Team Laser Explosion Mob and the far more brave and handsome Brotherhood of Justice.
The rivalry has been alive and well since 2006, its seed germinating when team captains Oliver Tiberius Ezekiel Jarman and, yours truly, James Douglas Iago Chrysanthemum McIntosh, extended their acquaintance within the confines of heated Past and Present seminars. Those were heated times, leading to heated confrontations on and off the field.
They have had a fierce history; In 2007 we played for the Richmond Road Invitational Cup. In 2008 TLEM fought back from 0-4 down to claim the Steve Sidwell Memorial Trophy. In 2009 the BoJ managed to sneak the Bruce Grobbelar Trophy (I think) through a bit of the old "next goal wins it" magic. 2010 saw the unofficial stag do victory head to TLEM. As you can see, the results have tended to swing towards Ollie's team more often than not.
What the Brotherhood of Justice lack in the results department, they usually make up for in the popular support market. This is a team that represents not only the people, but both the land of the people and the animals of the people as well. They can usually count on lots of lovely and attractive people turning out to support them. These people are often their seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth men, giving a strong numerical advantage to them in their quest for that elusive minx, Glory. It just goes to show that quality is probably more important than quantity.
This time though, in these difficult, difficult times, with the economy receding further than Wayne Rooney's hairline and a society receiving more ill-advised cuts than a punter in a drunken barbershop, few are able to make the long pilgrimage this year. We will be down to a solid six, an electric six, perhaps with a magnificent seventh, who can say? This will be the first time a mighty team of WAGs and BABs won't be present to cheer on our green-clad heroes. Will this lead to an upturn in fortunes? Will this eradicate those distractions that have been the perennial stumbling blocks thus far (apart from that one time)?
Let us hope so. The Team Laser Explosion Mob are not a nutritious bunch. Whenever we invited them to parties back at uni they wouldn't come. Ollie came once or twice, granted, but then secretly he wishes he was part of the Brotherhood of Justice. They never went to the Cavern. They probably chose fish and chips over veggie kebabs at the Raj. They probably don't know where the Exeter Picturehouse is. For shame. These guys deserve to be put in their place. Perhaps this could be the year it happens.
Let us hope so. The Team Laser Explosion Mob are not a nutritious bunch. Whenever we invited them to parties back at uni they wouldn't come. Ollie came once or twice, granted, but then secretly he wishes he was part of the Brotherhood of Justice. They never went to the Cavern. They probably chose fish and chips over veggie kebabs at the Raj. They probably don't know where the Exeter Picturehouse is. For shame. These guys deserve to be put in their place. Perhaps this could be the year it happens.
above - the banner of the Brotherhood of Justice
Whatever happens this weekend, we can rest assured that Voss, Earwaker, McIntosh, Parker, Dawes, Cowley and perhaps even Dunkley will give their all, eat lots of food, drink lots of alcohol and wake up with very sore heads on Sunday morning. Exeter is a lovely city with lots of great places to visit; if I'm able to fit in the Top 5 (Boston Tea Party, the Cavern, the Raj, Real McCoys and Beerbox) then I will be overjoyed. However, even if we end up going to Arena or worse, I can rest safe in the knowledge that I will get a chance at some point to take Oliver Jarman's legs out. Oh yes.
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