7am. Tuesday
Got to bed at 4am and now its 7am. This is no time for a self-respecting musician to be awake. I can’t sleep and I’m feeling restless. It’s that feeling when you have so many things to do and so much on your mind and it’s all swept up in a whirlwind, spinning around in your head so fast that you can’t focus on one particular thing.
The fact is. I need a manager. I’m in danger of spending too much time doing music biz stuff at the expense of what I do well which is writing, playing, singing, performing and recording.
Got home late last night from a rehearsal and started to surf through the endless list of crap TV. I fast-forwarded through the Chelsea v Liverpool game from the day before which had been recorded and then the Spurs v Villa game from last night, just to see the goals really. Seeing Liverpool win again didn’t hurt quite so much when it was against one of the billionaire ‘anything you can do….’ teams, who can make a massive financial loss because it is just a plaything to someone. They are strangling the game and creating monsters like Teves who has no clue whatsoever about the average supporter and how hard it is to raise the money to support a team week on week when one of their own can’t even get off his arse for £250,000 A WEEK!!!!
After the football I looked for something else. I decided against a programme called ‘Curious and unusual deaths at work.’ Then I swept over past and present gems such as ‘Supermarket sweep’ ‘Beauty and the Geek’ ‘Life as a turkey’ (I’m not kidding!), ‘don’t tell the bride’ ‘Verminators’ and I accidentally caught a preview to a show called….er wait for it! ‘DESPERATE SCOUSE WIVES’
After a brief visit to ‘I’m a celebrity I was forced to move on or risk putting my foot through the TV after watching Sinnita squealing and wimping out on yet another task. WHY is she in there? And more importantly, WHY have I been watching it. Someone commit me!
I’ve been so focussed on the release of ZEBULON that the Sheffield City Hall gig has crept up on me and I’ve got 3 weeks now to get the word out. I say ‘I’ve got’ because that’s exactly how I feel. So, any creative budding promoters out there who want to help spread the word then my door is wide open! Great feedback from the new album keeps coming and Art Music are sending copies to Australia, Africa, Germany, Canada, The USA and even The Outer Hebrides (is there such a thing as ‘The Inner Hebrides?) I was so pleased to get a great review from Martin Townsend, The Chief Editor of the Sunday Express because I really value his opinion.
“IT is no surprise that Liverpudlian John Reilly was picked to support Ray Davies on tour, or
that Richard Hawley’s backing band have helped out on his new album.
Reilly is a classic English singer-songwriter in the Davies/Hawley mould and Zebulon is a
terrific record, brimming with tunes, passion and wit.
The opener, Some Fall Too Hard sets the tone, Reilly’s rich, open vocal set against a sweet and restless melody, but Living With It is the stand-out, a gale of laughter that turns into a gorgeous breeze of a pop song. A masterful set.”
‘NOT ALONE’ is scheduled as the new single.
I am receiving lots of emails from people who have heard it on BBC Radio 2 and they all have a similar theme, which is private and spiritual. In that, I mean that they feel the song is speaking to them as an individual and that pleases me so much because my aim is to write songs that get beneath the skin. There is a certain amount of compromise when it comes to singles now in that usually the song has to be edited to a length to suite radio and as a songwriter and particularly as a lyricist the amputation of a verse from my baby can be traumatic but in this case I think the true essence of the song has not been compromised. The unedited version though is on the album.
I took a rare visit to the cinema to watch Spielberg’s Tin Tin movie in 3D. I am a big fan of the cartoon strips and I’m very intrigued by the character of Tin Tin’s creator Herge.
If you read and experienced the beautifully illustrated Tin Tin cartoon strips you will know that there is something magical, dark and deep in there. Herge was a man who despised his youth. Smothered by the church and living in the grip of Fascism, the early Tin Tin’s are alive with propaganda, right wing stereotypes and a slightly patronising colonialism, and then gradually, with popularity, Herge found his feet and his soul, which led to
Adventure Adventure. Adventure. Beautiful, wonderful escapism.
World travel, exotic deserts, seas and mountains. Africa, Japan, the frozen wastes and the deepest jungle. Yet amazingly, Herge did not travel himself. Meanwhile through Tin Tin, Herge begins subtly undermining terror. It was the end of the 30’s and he could see what was brewing!! I hadn’t realised this, but bravely he called his villain Mussoller. A clever combination of Mussolini & Hitler and one that at first escaped the notice of the bone headed goose steppers.
I enjoyed the spectacle of the Spielberg movie and would recommend it, but honestly, for pure escapism, give me Herge’s adventures of Tin Tin in a cartoon strip any day.
I'll catch up with you soon when no doubt I'll be moaning about something or other or who knows? i may be bringing you some good news.
See you all at Sheffield City Hall on 15th December.
love love love
JR
