First blog of 2012...

...and another year begins and already its turning out well!!

Chickenfoot - so my first concert of the year was at Manchester Academy watching the super group that is Chickenfoot.  Chickenfoot consist of Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith...and holy crap - they were good!!  Joe Satriani is an absolute GOD on the guitar and is note perfect live.  In fact, he has that thing about him which has you absolutely hooked from the moment he steps out on stage!  Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony (both formally from Van Halen) were so full of energy and class and they both looked like they were having the best time in the world.  Kenny Aronoff (filling in for Chad Smith who is currently touring with the Chilli Peppers) was also amazing, again seeming like he was having a whale of a time.  So, a good start to 2012's concerts - Ian Anderson, Bruce Springsteen and Rammstein still to follow!!

Work - so the new Quality Manager started and instantly the pressure has lifted from me and although I have already done nearly 20 hours overtime this year, I am getting more writing done, more PS3 and 360 playing time, getting to the gym more often, spending more quality and stress free time with my girlfriend and generally feeling alot better about things.

Writing - so like I said, I am getting more writing done - in fact I have had another one of my poems accepted and posted on The Erotic Woman website (Fucking New Year) and also Dark River Press have accepted one of my short stories (Decompose) and plan to post it on their website and hopefully in their publication in the future.  I am currently going over the contract for self publishing my first book (Love Or Suicide and the life inbetween) with extreme scrutiny - with help from my girlfriend - and am consistently entering competitions and writing poetry for my second book on the subjects of Life and Death (samples of which are below).

The Death Of Music (excerpt)

And so, in the distance, a record player crackles,

its RPM slowing down to a cruel wheezing plod,

and just as the art of live music drowns its own corpse,

the crescendo builds to play the death of music.

The skill of the instrument now a frowned upon memory,

tacky backing tracks partner with cold electronica,

and the writer is reduced to a forgotten matter of fact,

lyrics no more than a collection of empty obedience.

Those Simple Things (excerpt)

In this overcomplicated world,

of man, method and madness,

its those simple things that shine,

and smile upon a frowning rainbow.

The cool breeze on a hot day,

the click click of a writing pen,

the noisy stiffness of a new book,

the eureka moment of a lost memory,

the warm feeling of freshly clean sheets,

the scratch strike of a burning match,

the sods law of a surprise thunderstorm,

the joint glance from two would be lovers,

So, a good start to the year and one that I hope to continue.  Anyways, back to it!!