Tuesday, 30 September 2008

I'm sitting in the kitchen and it's pissing down outside but it's not bothering me whatsoever.... the main reason for this is that I've been trying to arrange a night with Steve Jones for about a year now, that involves the drinking of a bottle of wine that he's been keeping for us. Apparently it's a really good year/bottle (however that works) of Nuits Saint Georges.. I have to be honest, I know less than nothing about wine, but Steve knows a lot (not in his opinion, but certainly in mine) so tonight's gonna be an education.  Being that the wine has been kept for so long and this night postponed many many times before, we thought 'this is really gonna have to be something special'...so what we've decided to do is lock ourselves in my studio with the bottle of wine, possibly followed by a couple of glasses of Bushmills Rare 21yr Madera Cask Single Malt...but most importantly a handful of songs that were penned by a mutual friend of ours from Bangor, Maurice McCartney!

We've long been privy to the fact that Maurice writes the most wonderful, wondrous, alluring songs...and we've always threatened to record them but never got round to it, so it seemed like the appropriate thing to do, by way of marking tonight's significance... hang on a second, who talks like this?  I'm beginning to sound like a right ponsey twat... however, the truth remains, I love - and have loved from the second I heard - Maurice's songs.  The added beauty of these songs is that Maurice is not pursuing music as a career in anyway.  He leads a very quiet existence (until now that I'm blabbing about him of course) in Northern Ireland, reading books and thinking.  I first heard these songs over 10 years ago, and since then they've been sitting ageing in his cellar waiting to be drunk and appreciated, which is what we fully intend to do tonight!

I will see how he feels about the idea of you hearing them, and assuming he's cool with it I'll get any decent results of tonight's recordings up on the site!

On another note... I'm back in Belfast in October... As yet, I have nothing new to promote, but I just couldn't be away from home for too long so I'm going back for a sing song; if you’re coming make sure you’re in fine voice!  I’ve chosen to play the Spring & Airbrake, as much I loved the Mandela  Hall gigs, I really miss the intimacy of a smaller  venue so I’m going for that this time round.  

Regarding the requests I get to play elsewhere, I promise I’ll come and sing play for you in the new year, I just need to get some time in my studio thinking, cultivating, tearing down and building up…

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been Foy Vance and you’ve been wonderful

fx