In Between Days…
Without you
I heard the very sad news about Perry Bamonte last night…
climbing into bed
with a quiet somber grief weight
& ‘Letter To Elise’ in my headphones (still my most beloved Cure song)
I drifted off to sleep with his music in my bones
An invisible tattoo
the soundtrack to my life
the soundtrack of who I was
who I’ve become
On one of those in between days
after Christmas
before the year turns a page
when time stretches.
I was stepping back from live shows
thought i was done with stages
for a while
to get my head down
to be with the album
to let the songs complete themselves
without the pull of the stage
& then two days ago, the long neglected Leicester venue The Shed asked me to be part of the line-up for their final gig on the 28th December
The Shed (like too many treasured venues) is closing its doors after 31 years this week.
It was once a venue of subculture hangouts & first chances. So many bands & artists have made their terrifying debuts on that oddly shaped stage.
The first band I ever played in took shape there.
A bunch of music college students with a shared love of each other’s record collections, became a Doors tribute act. With my Hammond X5 & Leslie Speaker cabinet (blame the influence of Rod Argent…my teacher back then)
We slowly became Pali Gap…
playing alongside my boyfriend at the time Mikey (now of Black Grape &Happy Mondays), playing gigs at The Shed, The Charlotte…Brighton Beach club nights at the Uni.
With school friends in bands like Weave (Kav went on to form Blitz Vega with The Smiths Andy Rourke) & Saracuse (who changed their name to Kasabian)…
long before we knew where life & music might take us
So when The Shed (via Joe Doyle) asked if I’d like to take to their stage this one last time
It didn’t feel like breaking a promise to myself
it felt like saying goodbye to something unfinished & a chance to spend one special night with lots of fellow ghosts of gigs past
Honouring what that venue & audiences have given us for just a little longer…
hoping some of that sense of community & goodwill to support live artists & venues lingers into the year
As we share one of those quiet reflective days
between seasons
between stories
After this I’ll be back to the quiet work
writing
designing
creating
listening
as the album finds its shape & final identity…
but for one last night
I’ll stand on that stage
& let all those memories speak back
It promises to be a really beautiful night full of lots of familiar faces from the scene from over the past 3 decades, so If you’re there I’ll see you down the front…
if not
maybe another moment will find us soon
J x