Quentin an' that

I bartered a couple of my signed art prints for a couple of beautiful, inspiring books by a genius:

They are brilliant. I especially love the spare, minimalist sketches of so much of the Year Of Drawings. How does he do it?!?

(I do have my eye on another art book for a possible art print swap sometime...)

Staying on my Quentin kick, I enjoyed listening to a podcast of the genius himself on Desert Island Discs. I liked his description of the Janáček piece as sounding what it feels like to draw.

And in this short podcast interview QB tells the story of how a taxi driver inspired him to tackle his own Guernica.

If you don't know this from Robert blinking Forster - you might like it:

Did I mention I played a gig with him?

Just kidding.

In other listening: Meet David Sedaris.

I'm keeping drawing/sketching/painting. Trying different things. Varying degrees of success but enjoying it. The trick is to keep carrying on...

I'm going to get a shot at some screen printing soon - so watch this space....

Wee reminders:

Teenage Fanclub tour UK/Europe in October/November

You can order my Bob-Dylan design t-shirt here.

Love Goes On

So on Saturday I played a solo acoustic support slot for the esteemed Robert Forster for FRETS Concerts at The Strathaven Hotel - organised by the indefatigable Douglas MacIntyre. 

I planned to close my set with a rendition of "Loves Goes On" written by Robert's late Go-betweens bandmate Grant McLennan. But I wanted to check if that was OK. It wasn't just OK: Robert said, "You play it and then at the end of the night come up and play it again with me." It was the first time he had performed it since the 1980s.

Thanks for these photos, John Nadin:

Robert's set was brilliant, his first time on stage with his son Louis (ex-Goon Sax): One Bird In The Sky, Darlinghurst Nights, Spring Rain, Inferno, She's A Fighter, Surfing Magazines, Did She Overtake You, etc., etc. 

How lucky we are to have Robert in our lives, creating and sharing; travelling from the other side of the world to be in the same room as us; conjuring up some magic in this place. Oh and the Strathaven Hotel fish and chips were delicious. What a night.

Photo by Sushil K Dade

I lived in Uddingston and went to secondary school in Hamilton. My old folk band played folk clubs in Glassford and Strathaven. After saying my goodbyes and clearing snow from the windscreen, I took a midnight drive down Low Waters Road and through Hamilton, Bothwell and Uddingston with 101 teenage memories for company. Then home to Glasgow. 

A few years ago I wrote a brief appreciation on the passing of Grant McLennan for The Herald.

In other news I took my boy along to the I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue live show (Jack Dee, Rory Bremner, Pippa Evans, Tony Hawks, Fred MacAulay and Colin Sell on the piano) at the King's in Glasgow. We had a great time; both now proficient on kazoo.

I am a late convert to Last Tango In Halifax. I once met Anne Reid when BMX Bandits appeared on Ned Sherrin's Loose Ends (BBC Radio 4). I told her she was great in The Mother. She seemed very nice. I also took the opportunity to get Stephen Sondheim to sign my West Side Story CD. But I digress.

I have been making music for a documentary that I will tell you about sometime. Yesterday - as I type - the brilliant Laura Wilkie recorded some lovely fiddle for me. Exciting.

Still I sketch and draw...

Wee reminder - you can order my limited edition Bob Dylan design t-shirt here.

Onwards and sideways! x

 

Roll On Saturday...

To say I am very much looking toward to playing a short solo acoustic set opening for the great Robert Forster in Strathaven, Darkest Lanarkshire soon would be quite the understatement:

You can get Robert's new album "The Candle And The Flame" here.

In other out-of-the-ordinary news, one of my Bob Dylan drawings has made it on to a limited edition t-shirt.

And - just as exciting - a link to order it has made it on to the Expecting Rain fan site...

The t-shirt can be ordered from Union Music Store.

On TV I've been watching - and would recommend - Parole (BBC TWO). 

If you like David Sedaris and you missed it here he is on Desert Island Discs.

See if you dig Green Boots on Bandcamp...

Don't forget about Teenage Fanclub's Oct/Nov tour of UK/Europe - tickets here.

On my instagram feed Toby Messenger said that this drawing...

...reminded him of Kirchner.

I googled Kirchner and had a go at drawing a portrait of him...

My friend Andreas said it looked a bit like Öyvind Fahlström so I googled Öyvind Fahlström...

And so it goes.

Here's some more art: