2026 eh? It’s been a hot one. So far the year has been one of reflection for me personally. 1976 found me working as an apprentice in a brass foundry and engineering company amidst that historically documented hot summer. Recent fires in France and Spain as well as the Cairngorms in Scotland seem to indicate things have escalated to an apocalyptical level. This actually had an effect on family members as my brother in law, Mike who lives in Nethy Bridge close to where the fires raging in the nearby mountains of the highlands faced the prospects of having to make a run for it. This whole series of events has made me realise with my family medical history and that of other world events, leads me to believe that i should be using all of the things I keep for best like crockery, clothes, vinyl box sets etc. So that’s the negatives over with so far apart from personal moans and groans befitting a man of my age.
So far I’ve had a great year, especially with regard to music and the friendships made as a result of it. Coffee, cake and music chats are always on the cards with friends like Bob Mulvey of The Progressive Aspect, Johnny Blakey of Progwinds and me old mucker singer/songwriter Phil Swinburne of the band Men Of God. Fusion festival in March was just simply great. Steve Gould the organiser puts on a great show. It was marvellous to reconnect with my pals from The Tangent and other bands who I believe are the new icons of Prog. Despite the deluge of such events I was invited to be involved in a one day event to be staged in the Key Theatre smack back in the middle of Peterborough. In the words of the famous Talking Heads, how did I get here?
Well, it was all down to my esteemed colleague, fellow presenter at Progzilla Radio Mike Whitfield who contacted me and asked if I wanted to be involved in an idea he had to stage “A Prog Day In May”. Mike, along with our colleague Roger Marsh would form the holy trinity of the event. With four terrific bands and one solo artist. How could I refuse? It was a fabulous day and a great success on every level but financial ha ha. Still, we learned many lessons and in the process of regrouping to plan another such experience. It was great to catch up with Jerry Ewing too, the editor of Prog Magazine who as always engaged in some great anecdotes and pearls of wisdom.
As the summer reaches it’s peak I suspect that the dry, warm weather despite taking it’s toll on wildlife and the landscape has driven musicians indoors to their studio’s resulting in an influx of new music in my in tray. You won’t hear me complaining because I’ve had some talented folks in touch with some fabulous vibes. In fact, the other new dimension to the year is that I have augmented my monthly show by including a stand alone Podcast to my repertoire. This seems to have further stimulated interest in the music I play and bands getting in touch.
Whilst I really must thank artists for getting in touch wanting me to review their music on my website www.theprogmeister.com I must apologise for not doing so. I have been battling some health issues and not as confident as I once was at writing. For a while now I have been making typo’s and grammatical errors that prevent me from reviewing some great music. However, sometimes I hear an album that is to good not to, so I press on regardless. Whether this is down to medication, my rock n’ roll lifestyle or just simply the ageing progress, I am unsure but I am not going to let it get in the way of my passion.
I still have a few gigs lined up to attend in the next few months and really looking forwards to them. Though as the summer with it’s drought, wars and political unrest ebbs towards autumn I am starting to think about organising my annual event for audio enthusiasts here in the North East. NEBO (North East Bake Off) is something I began in 2012 in my friends bistro. Since then the event has been held in many locations throughout the Tees valley and always a joy. This October will be the seventeenth event due to COVID and all that went along with it preventing us holding our ensembles during lockdown. I have always said that I will keep organising them until folks get bored of them or it becomes logistically unsustainable. Lets see what happens this year? The economy is biting everyone with the price of fuel and travel as well as overnight accommodation so we shall just have to gauge it on the day.
Also on my agenda this summer has been the prospect of relocating elsewhere in the country. So far I have been scouting around The Wirral and Cumbria. In the case of our whistle stop tour to The Wirral we were transported at some scary speeds around the area in an extremely fast electric Porche . A Daunting prospects of such a move is that both myself and partner have a lifetime’s worth of possessions to shoehorn into a smaller abode. Those of you who have already done this will appreciate just how stressed out this makes you feel? However, it is something that just has to be done. Part of me remains slightly scared whilst the other part of me fills me with excitement. It would be nice to find smaller property next door to a kindred spirit somewhere, though the chances of finding a whiskey swilling Prog fanatic audiophile as a neighbour would I imagine, be pretty slim.
If you are that person and there is a house/bungalow next door for sale, please get in touch.
Enjoy the rest of your summer folks, there is still a lot to look forward to musically.
Prog Day In May images by Paul Attwood with thanks.
