The Windsors - a poster

The Windsors and Edward Munch

Have been rehearsing downstairs in the studio. Poor Matt has a horrible headache though. I'm cooking a chicken for later.

This is an incredibly mundane post, and not really worth blogging, but a blog is a diary too.

On the more interesting side I'm now going to carry on watching Peter Watkins's docu-drama series on Edward Munch. It's a winner for me, being a massive Peter Watkins fan and also very interested in expressionism. Grey Norwegian coughing, close ups of consumptives, melancholy, bohemia and suicidal ideas.

The Windsors pack away

The Windsors

The Windsors

The Windsors

More Windsor sketches

The Windsors

Sketches from the gig at The Grosvenor last night

Club Integral at the Grosvenor

Just been out with Matt to see his band 'The Windsors' play at Club Integral at The Grosvenor in Brixton / Stockwell. I did some drawings. Bit tired to post them now, but I'll try and get them up tomorrow morning.

I really love the band, and Phil's keyboard is such fun. They look good on stage too. Look forward to seeing more of them and to them playing a longer set when they have more songs prepared. It's such feel good music, a real delight to watch and hear them.

The Windsors

Last evening Matt played me the live tape of the Club Integral gig at The Grosvenor where The Windsors played their first gig. It sounds great. Love Phil's keyboard sounds. I'm hoping to sing the song 'Stromatolites' for which I wrote some lyrics about prehistoric bacteria with the band at their February performance. If they'll let me. Matt says he hopes lots of different guest vocalists and/or performers will sing with The Windsors.

A royal progress

Well, although no one except Matt has heard anything, I'm now very happy with the work I have done putting vocals to the Windsors tunes. It just goes to show that you can't eat enough hats. Or something like that.

Anyway, I'm going to put one of them up on my myspace page for the curious, just because I can. It's about stromatolites. 'What?' You may say. They are very ancient fossils of single celled oxygen making bacteria who primed our world for later complex organisms - like us!

It's quite unusual for me to pick such a scientific subject for a song, although I often do dally on the border of science of arts. I must feel I can go there lyrically in this new musical context.

So, to have a listen, visit www.myspace.com/judecowan

Failing to write

I am failing to write anything that I can live with to either of the Windsors tracks, despite listening to the music on my headphones on the walk to work.

I may have to confess that I can't add any decent vocals to these tunes. Wouldn't this be better than ploughing ahead and offering something I don't feel is right?

Usually I don't give up easily, but part of being an experienced as an artist is that you hope you have learnt to be selective in how you spend your creative time. And if something really isn't working I am probably better off pursuing something else. At least for a while.

I wonder if I will ever return to these tracks though, I really think my vocals wouldn't be right on either tune.

Windsor Calypso

I'm listening to the lovely tunes of 'The Windsors' a band in progress. Unfortunately I can hear myself talking some crap in the background which is rather putting me off. Oh good, Matt is talking now and he's talking more than me. What a relief. I hate it when I realise I am going on and on and on and on ... but somehow, I just can't stop myself. I suppose the music is a form of chatter anyway, the notes and lines, and it's beautiful.