There’s often a guitar in the photo.  60 years ago, (I was seven), I received my first, very secondhand minstrel outfit and started to teach myself how to make music.  I’m still trying and one day I might get the hang of it.   The guitar, well, it is ubiquitous and therefore easy to find at a secondhand sale.  After a year or two my parents seemed to acknowledge that I loved it and it wasn’t just a passing phase, but they either didn’t have the resources or just didn’t consider the idea of lessons.. My father repaired a few guitars that I managed to break and in the height of Beatlemania, he made me an amplifier and banished me to the garage outside. Amongst other things, he was a radio ham, so electronics building was straightforward for him. The most resourceful and imaginative designer and engineer I have ever had the pleasure to know.

A self-employed engineer, he used to call himself a blacksmith, but his metalwork skills were amazing. Here is a gate he made for Norton Priory walled garden.

As you can guess, he converted my first guitar to play slide by making a support that went underneath the headstock and on his lathe he turned my first custom fitted stainless tube.

The present.

Right Tommy Tom Tom, what’s been happening?….

Although I have stopped playing in public, I have been persuaded to speak (and play some music), at an International Conference at Bath University in a week or so. It’s a private event, but even so it will be challenging for me (in a good way) to get back on the horse.

Releases
Kolkata Delta

Using an Indian scale and influenced from my time with Indian Slide Guitar Guru, Debashish Bhattachrya when I was with him in Kolkata, (2003). 
Improvised and with a blues riff. Acoustic Double bass by Matt Owens and ‘given the beans’ by Kostas Manikas..Sounds best through good speakers and loud ….
https://youtu.be/luApM5FhiJk?si=IDeZZcMVmoRoGHQa

Live Studio Recording

Corrina Corrina was written by Mississippi John Hurt back in the 1920s. Like many good songs, it has been covered by thousands of people, now including me! I have never done a live studio video; and just prior to this recording I was struggling to play for more than 10 minutes due to an aggravated nerve in my shoulder. Dave Speakman, the chap who owns and runs the studio made it so comfortable and straightforward for me that I was basically able to go into the room, tune a guitar and go for it. We had planned a long intro where some parts of my musical past would be panned by the camera prior to it focusing on me. I present and visual challenge compared to how I feel the music comes out, particularly as I’ve got older and need to slouch more to balance in my chair. It was a way of starting to let the music do the talking. I think it turned out well and I particularly like the ending. There was an emotional atmosphere as I finished playing and I was on the edge of getting upset, so humour was the only escape. Thankfully I was wearing a T-shirt with a fish.  There are guitar nerds out there and thought I was interested, I made this tuning up.  (from the bass C,G,D,G,C,D)
https://youtu.be/c5BEZcX8190?si=KT-Fdx8seACA6u3j

During the winter, August to April or May, we hold house concerts here in Slideytowers. I find some wonderful musicians and we have a mailing list for about 80 people to get a regular audience of 30 to 40.  Usually I don’t play, (it is someone else’s night), but occasionally I will play something or accompany someone if it feels right. It was just once last season and it was with my friend Tim Edey. I tried out Corrina and Tim accompanied me on his melodeon. He is a great musician, wonderful guitarist and keyboard player with the warmest presents you could wish for.   https://timedey.com/home

Here are two duets with him.
Corrina.. https://youtu.be/sms1EatbQK4?si=iwbc-ZNqYrn5KBw6

Completely improvised by me on the spot…  Tim is so good at reading what is going on, he just found this beautiful accompaniment. We called it the A49 to Santa Cruz
https://youtu.be/IJ7vaUx6NRY?si=kS3s5x4hgyJSKvqJ

Finally, a tune made up on Sunday afternoon. You know those days when the weather alternates. Hot sun followed by cool rain. This was just recorded on the iPad.
https://youtu.be/obSlcLulSE4?si=9HBH5g_l-0piJqhK

After years of all the musicians telling me to do this, I have also released all of my recording works through the website Bandcamp.  https://tomdoughty.bandcamp.com/
This is in addition to the usual music streaming and download platforms.  So few people by actual CDs nowadays. The format of recorded music has been continually evolving since the first days of Wax Cylinders.

Listening and Reading..

I mentioned our house concerts earlier. One of the memorable bands we had last year was Bearcat Gumbo. A five piece, all-female group from Liverpool who played swing, Jazz and upbeat Americana.  Claire (on keys) mentioned  Treme in an introduction to one of the songs. Afterwards, I went and searched it out and we have been totally hooked. It’s three series of eight or 10 episodes which focuses on the flooding in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina. The music is brilliant as is the storyline and the quality of the action. Lots of music is played all the way through rather than just snippets and my jukebox now have several old original 1940s and 50s jazz music down her through this program.  We watched it through YouTube but I think it’s available on all sorts of streaming platforms. Here’s a snippet of a wonderful piece of Louis to wet your appetite.  Put your troubles in dreams and dream all your troubles away. What a wonderful sentiment.  Now is the time
https://youtu.be/28gGpAkJuNY?si=TTcUqW3ttg66KAUH

And if you like an inspiring, beautiful human novel. Here’s one I couldn’t put down. The island of missing trees by Elif Shafak

Hope you’ve been having a lovely summer and wishing you all the best for the next year. We will be disappearing back up to our glamping pod in Yorkshire as soon as we can escape.

Thank you all for your support.