Year's end

So another year's gone. 

It's safe to say that 2012 has been memorable for me, with plenty of ups and plenty of downs - with this being the first full year of me and my brother living in our own place there were times this year where things got too much, especially with the whole arrears situation at the start of the year, and of course my continued failure to find a job. Can't forget what seemed to be an endless deluge of rain for a month or two, either.

There's been good times too, though - the numerous times me and Chris hit the quasar at South Shields with friends; me getting out for my long hikes up the Deerness Valley Way and enjoying the sun and the countryside; hitting the beach at Tynemouth in the summer, plus watching the aerial action at the Sunderland Airshow. Can't forget about this year being the year that the Olympics were held in this country too, even though I didn't watch much of it.
However, for me this year has had one clear highlight - two awesome weeks at the end of May when my long-time friend Nicole from Connecticut in the US flew over to visit, just like I'd visited her the previous year. The weather was beautiful for those 2 weeks, and we made the most of it, seeing the sights and most of all being together - it was the push that made me realise that I needed her in my life as more than a friend.

I have to mention the festive season too - went to Christmas Eve mass with my grandma as I always do every year, it was a nice service, and it just felt like for that whole hour or so we were there that the outside world just disappeared.
Christmas Day was good too - I only asked for one present, but of course I ended up getting far more, from family, friends and Nicole. I also sent out quite a few presents and cards to family and friends. Me and my brother also had a nice quiet dinner, chat and telly at our grandma's house too.
Boxing Day was also good, spent the day at our grandma's house again, only this time a few of the rest of the family were there, along with a buffet, some music and a very animated game of Bop It - all in all, it was a good Christmas.

However I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, not even at this time of year. It's always the same, the festive season gets you feeling all warm and fuzzy and upbeat, only for the new year to come along and break it at the neck without any warning. 
I can't say that I'm really feeling very positive about 2013 - I have no job, the chances of getting one seem to get worse every year, with all the cuts the government are making plus the price of everything going up in April I'm worried about how I'm going to be able to afford the flat etc, not to mention the fact that I'm still hoping to fly back over to the US in the summer, and that stuff like that could wreck it and/or any other future plans I might have.
And then there are other things - stuff that's going on in my family that just really get me down, stuff that I'm not going to discuss here.

All the same - wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I wish everyone all the best for the New Year.

Snow Sam

With it being winter, and the festive season just about out of the way, I think it's time I said a bit about the backstory behind one of my many cartoon creations - I'll cover the rest at some point, but right now, I'm going to concentrate on my walking, talking snowman character Snow Sam. (tagline - "Move over Frosty, there's a new snowman in town")

A couple of things inspired this character - the first was when I walked into a post office in Durham in winter 2005, and saw a little snowman toy for sale, at a reduced price. Couldn't resist, so I snapped it up.

 The snowman toy bought from the Post Office

As well as that, both the song and the character "Frosty the Snowman" had a hand in it as well - and while the sketch of the character was originally intended to just be a seasonal one-off, I found myself wanting to try out a comic strip with a walking, talking snowman, and it didn't take me long to give him a name - I chose "Snow Sam" because it sounded similar to "snowman".

  The very first picture of Snow Sam, from December 2005

Snow Sam was officially created on 15 December 2005, and his first comic was created on 16 December 2005. Keeping in mind Frosty the Snowman, I decided to make him a friendly and cheerful, yet sort of "anti-Frosty" character who likes to take a grounded yet humourous view of life as a snowman, and everyday things around him - he's never short of a witty remark or two.

Sam's not alone in his comics - in Snow Sam Comic #2 I introduced his clumsy, baseball cap-wearing fellow snowman friend Fred, followed by a more feathered friend in Comic #3, Rosco the Robin. Completing the cast was another snowman, the adventurous and portly George, who I introduced in Comic #6.

Another twist to the Snow Sam artwork and comics is that I mostly only draw and upload them at winter-time (with the odd exception), as the comic is meant to be set in my home country (UK), and of course we usually only get snow during the winter months (again, there have been exceptions), so that's the premise that the comic schedule is based on. It's also so I can have time to work on other comics and artwork, of course.

 The cast of "Snow Sam" (l to r): George, Rosco, Fred, Sam

So there you have it - all you need to know about Snow Sam. If you want to check out his comics and artwork, just point your cursor at one of the links below:

Snow Sam artwork: http://bluebottleflyer.deviantart.com/gallery/949436

Snow Sam comics:  http://bluebottleflyer.deviantart.com/gallery/556370 

Getting chilly

Aye, it really is getting chilly - it's that time of year when Autumn starts to change in Winter, everything gets colder and the heating bills get higher - but it is what it is.
On the jobs front - same old, same old. Many applications, but not one interview. Just got to keep trying though, as always.
Also, this month there were a couple of days where I just had that feeling of "why do I bother" - and it's just stupid little things that set it off, like someone not responding to a picture I made for them on deviantART. Like anytime I feel upset, it starts as one little thing and other little things build up, before it ends up being everything. It soon passes though, as it has.
On a brighter note, remember how I've mentioned leaks for the past couple of months? One leak has finally been fixed - the leak from the bathroom. The council finally decided to come and reseal the bath, as well as ripping out the part of the cracked front room ceiling and replacing it with new cement. No leaks since, and all it needs now is a good painting over. The leak under the sink is still dripping away though.
I've made a start on my Christmas shopping too...however, as it always does, it's coming along at a snail's pace, because I'm in the mindset that I can leave it till "2 weeks till Christmas", which I should know by now is not the way to go about it.
And last but not least, me and Nicole have been together - well, as together as we can be with 5000 miles and the Atlantic separating us - for just over 2 months now. Hopefully the next 7 months will fly by as much as this one has - can't wait for next June.

As always, I'll leave you with a bit of artwork - made this one for an art jam by a good DA friend of mine, Rich (FAC-AgentC on deviantART, go check out his artwork), mixing two things I like, which are cartoons and music:

   "Goof's Art Jam 2012: Musical Bugs"

Leaks, love and Halloween

OK, so I thought it was cold in September - scratch that, it's been colder this month. In fact, cold enough for an early snow shower, which thankfully cleared off as quick as it turned up.
Colder still is the trail of looking for a job - still no luck on that front I'm afraid. Also, I mentioned a lot of leaks in the last blog - they're back again. The leak under the sink has started again, which means I might have to get the washer hose replaced, until then there's a towel and a bowl to collect the leakage. As well as that, a crack's appeared in the ceiling of our front room, the part with the bathroom above it, because of shower water pouring behind the bath seal - the crack's been getting bigger for some time now, but the last straw was when, guess what, it started to leak water into the front room. That's since been remedied by sticking a towel on the seal to stop the water going down, but it still needs fixing properly, and I can bet my last tenner that the council won't fix it.
Anyhow, that's enough about that...in my last blog, I also mentioned that there was an announcement I wanted to make...

Well, here it is.

It's something that's been bubbling under for a long time, but I finally got the guts to make it happen. Nicole, my long-time friend from Connecticut and I are now an item, since September 28. It's been a while since I've been in a relationship, and this is without a doubt the first long distance relationship I've been in, but those aside, it's as simple as this: I love Nicole, she loves me, and neither past relationships or how far away we live from each other are going to get in the way.
So yeah, there it is.

Obviously as I type this, it's almost Halloween, the spooky season. To be honest, in recent years I've found that I prefer the spooky season to another certain festive time of year *coughChristmascough*, despite the fact that it too is also heavily commercialised. I guess it's just because it's darker. 
I've only ever dressed up for Halloween once, and that was as Dracula - but this year I'm going to dress up for it again, well, sort of - you may or may not get to see a pic and video of me all zombified.

As always, I'll leave you with some artwork - and here's a sort of creature you'd normally run away from - but not this fella:

  Bartholomew, a not-so-scary bat

PS: As I type this, the tropical storm Sandy is currently causing chaos in the northeastern US - hope everyone I know over there stays safe. 

Wake me up when September ends

And there goes Summer...hello there Autumn, you seem to come by a lot quicker these days.
Aye, the warm weather (what we got of it) has gone, to be replaced by Arctic temperatures, falling leaves, and more rain, which of course means more heating on. That's the way it goes of course.
As I mentioned last month, I've had to start a "Work Programme", which I've been referred to by the jobcentre - basically, a local training place is going to help me look for work, I have to attend a short session with them every fortnight where they go over what I've been doing to look for work, they give me advice and if there's any jobs suitable they'll put me forward for it. Unlike the jobcentre though, they don't pressure you, which is a lot better. And there's no having to sit around in a classroom for 6 hours a day like in the past.
There's been a word that has kept popping up this last month - and that word is leaks. Aye, there was not one, but three different leaks in me and my brother's flat - first, our toilet, it wouldn't stop flushing because the stopcock was busted; second, the washer pipe under the sink which soaked everything that was kept under there; and last, rainwater dripping from a nasty damp patch in our kitchen, and that was thanks to the two days of constant heavy rain in the last week of this month. The first two leaks got sorted out, the third has stopped, but we really need to get that damp patch fixed up.
Only other thing to note is that I've pre-ordered the new Biffy Clyro album - as some of you probably know, I'm a huge Biffy fan, and I'm looking forward to the new album. With the way music is these days it's good to know there is still some music out there still worth listening to.
Actually, I told a lie...there is one other big thing I'd like to tell you - but I'm not going to say anything - yet.

I'll leave you with some artwork, as always:

My two dragon characters, Fyfe & Sparkplug.

Some summer

And, that's summer over for another year - but to be honest, it felt like it barely even started. This summer, to me, felt different than summers past weather-wise, because of all the rain we've had here. Now I'm no stranger to summer rain, but it feels like this year it was worse than usual. That's not to say that there weren't any warm days at all, but they were few and far-between.
Also, the mood felt different, because of me going somewhere on holiday around summertime in the past few years - this was the first summer since 2008 that I didn't go anywhere (a day trip to Tynemouth doesn't count), and I missed doing so. Really hope next summer will be a different story.
On that note, it's about time I spilled some beans - when Nicole was over here with me back in May, she told me that there was an opportunity for a temp job in her neck of the woods, a chance for me to live and work in the US for a few months. I was all for it until I read about getting a visa in order to go do that - far too much hassle, far too much expense. And would they really give me a visa once they saw that I was unemployed? It just wouldn't be worth it sadly.
I mentioned previously about possibly ending up on a brain-dead training programme, courtesy of the jobcentre - I have been referred to what's called the "Work Programme", which means a sort of agency called Avanta are going to work with me for the next 2 years to try and "help" me get a job. By "help", I mean they're probably just gonna shove me on every training course and work placement under the sun for the next 2 years just to keep me out the road and make the jobcentre's unemployment figures look better than what they actually are. Same old story, just repackaged.
On a better note, this month I also took the plunge and bought a new laptop - it was a last minute thing, the laptop in question is a Lenovo IBM ThinkPad, with Windows XP and dual core, selling for only £145. Bargain, and it was a much-needed replacement for my Sony Vaio, which has started to slow down and switch itself off when overheated. So far the new laptop is blowing the old one out of the water performance-wise.

Last but not least, here's some artwork, and instead of a clichéd beach scene, here's some heavy metal spiders:

"Araknid: Heavy Metal Spiders" - what you get when you mix two things I like, music and cartoon characters.

See you in September.

Up in the air

End of July, halfway through the summer now - although it hasn't really been much of a summer weatherwise, the weather for the best part of this month has been canny horrendous to say the least, with days of rain and temperatures closer to Autumn and Winter than Summer - however there have been one or two good days as well.
The weather fits this month pretty well actually, it's been a mixed bag. Had a blip moment at the start of the month, thanks to me thinking too much as usual, about the future, about not having a job, etc - this is something that happens too frequently with me. Once I get into a funk, I find it hard to get out of it.
Speaking of jobs, I landed a job interview, the first one in over year! However, it didn't go very well, especially when I learnt that the job I was being interviewed for would be no higher than 15 hours, nowhere near enough for me to get by on. They didn't call me back, so that was the end of that. That interview also postponed my inevitable shove onto that compulsory jobcentre course - that'll be happening next month, and I'm dreading it.
Also, as you'll probably know already with every form of media under the sun shoving it in our faces every waking hour, this summer is the Olympics, and this year it's in London, in my country. You'd think I'd be excited by that, but the truth is I'm not. Don't get me wrong, I like watching the actual sporting events, but I just can't stand all the pomp and circumstance of the occasion, including the fake "world comes together" mantra, as well as the masses of corporate sponsors promoting themselves to high heaven. It's supposed to be about the sport and the taking part, not the profit - but then again, that seems to be the way with everything, really.
That aside, there was a highlight to this month - on the 21st, me and my brother took a trip to the Sunderland Airshow for the first time in 6 years, it was the third time for both of us. The weather was brilliant that day too, which meant we got the full airshow experience. Each of the aircraft displays were terrific, though for me the highlights were the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster bomber); the Breitling Wingwalkers (two biplanes with a lass strapped on top of each one's wing, performing acrobats while in the air); two Tornado fighter jets, complete with pyrotechnics on the ground; the RAF Falcons parachute team and of course, the Red Arrows. Great day all around.

The Red Arrows in action at the 2012 Sunderland Airshow.

As I said above, I can't say I'm feeling too good about August - but as always, we'll just have to see how it goes. I'm hoping for better weather, anyway. As always, I'll leave you with some artwork.

The latest addition to my ever-growing bunch of cartoon characters - Bartholomew the bat.

Tunage

Thought it was about time I shared some of my own music here, that I've made using the game Music 2000:


A Town Without Shame


Stony Creek


My December (Linkin Park cover)


Left To Chance


Liar


747


Last Call


Please Wait...Loading


Seattle

Flaming June

I can safely say that after the high of last month, this June was definitely a "comedown month" as far as things go for me, for a few reasons.
First off, the start of this month saw me saying goodbye to Nicole after her fortnight here, and it goes without saying it took some time to get used to her not being around. Those two weeks have so far been the highest point of this year, and I don't want to forget the good times we had during those weeks.
Second, I've been feeling uncertain this past month - all brought on by seeing articles in the news that just fill me with rage and worry, mostly those to do with politicians living in their fantasy worlds as they do, and taking every penny from us ordinary folk as they possibly can. Also, I was told by the jobcentre that I will have to start a mandatory "work programme" soon - and from past experience, it'll be another brain-dead "training" course like just about every other one they've forced me onto.
I don't want to end up on one of those - but I've started to question whether having a job is even worth it, considering the fact a lot of people are actually worse off in a job than on benefits because of being taxed to death. Of course I'm still searching for jobs, don't get me wrong - but it's stuff I don't want to think about or deal with, and I just find myself wondering "Is this it? Is this the rest of my life?", and wishing for simpler times - I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that, either.
And last but not least, which hasn't helped either, is the Great British Weather. Aside from one or two days, all it's done since Nicole left is pour down, which always does wonders for the mood. Had a side order of thunder and lightning as well.


Sorry this is such a downer blog, but I just can't find anything positive about this past month  and I doubt July's gonna be any better.


I'll leave you with some artwork:

"Grey Skies"

Mayday parade

Five months down, seven to go - and this one's been quite special, for two reasons, which I'll go into in a little bit.
First though, the bad stuff: if I can't find a job by the end of June, the Jobcentre will be forcing me onto one of their "work programmes", which I've been on in the past, and most of them have been pretty soul-destroying experiences, lasting about three months at a time - however this next one could last for two whole years. I can't stomach the idea of having to sit in a classroom with a bunch of people I don't know, being told stuff I already know by some snotty jobsearch tutor who will gladly remind me how much of a waste of space I am to society. I've been there already, too many times.


Rant over - now for the good stuff.


On the 23rd, it was a year since I made my third trip to the US, to Connecticut, where I met my long-time online friend Nicole (thesundoesrise on DA) face-to-face for the first time - what followed were four of the best weeks of my life. I met her family and friends, met up with two DA buddies (Shane Jensen and Leo, aka Ardwick), explored in and around Nicole's hometown of Branford, and also visited Atlantic City, Rhode Island, Boston, stayed with Shane's family for a few days on Long Island, visited lots of beaches, a zoo, an aquarium, and had more than one party plus karaoke in between. Too add to that, my brother Chris and his girlfriend also flew over for 2 weeks, and together we all set foot in New York City. I honestly haven't stopped thinking about that awesome time since I flew back, and I hope to get back there again.


That brings me onto the second special occasion of this month: in a complete switcheroo of last year's trip, Nicole jetted all the way here to the north-east of England to visit me and my brother, for two weeks, and as I write she is still with us, however in three days she'll be leaving, something neither of us are looking forward to. Her time here has been awesome - I introduced her to my family, took her for walks around my hometown and in the Weardale countryside, and we also visited Durham, Newcastle, the Metro Centre in Gateshead, Bishop Auckland, Darlington and the beach and aquarium in Tynemouth. I've really enjoyed having Nicole here, and it goes without saying that I'll miss her very much when she leaves - but I'm not thinking about that right now!

Me and Nicky in Connecticut, USA, May 2011

Me and Nicky in Bishop Auckland, UK, May 2012

Last but not least, as always, a little bit of artwork for you - a trade picture that I did with my good Scottish buddy Andy (aka Granitoons on DA):

"Poker Birds" (Pete/Squawks/artwork © me, Stan/Lonnie © granitoons.deviantart.com)

Speaking of DA, I am no longer known as "appleyard86" on there - DA recently gave deviants the option to change their usernames, so I'm now known on there as "BluebottleFlyer", to bring it in line with my usernames on other accounts. Plus, I never liked the "appleyard86" username anyway.

That's all for May - hopefully June will be fine, and not flaming. 

April showers

Aye, it's been April, and just as the old saying goes, there's been April showers - it feels like for most of this month that it's been chucking it down, and that mini heatwave at the end of March now feels like just a distant memory. Weather needs to get warmer, enough said.
Don't need to say anything about jobsearch really, except same old same old - although someone did actually bother to send me a rejection letter for once. Small comfort and all that.
Had a couple of minor blips this month too, and surprise surprise, both were money related. I'm sick of everything constantly going up, how far does it have to go up till it comes down again? Or will it ever go down again? In this day and age, I highly doubt it.
Anyway, rant over, now for the good stuff. My only major bit of travelling this month was to South Shields, first time there since 2005. Parts of it have changed, but the beach looks as great as it always has.
I wasn't alone on that trip, I met up with Richard Alnwick (aka DragonRichard on DA) for the second time, as well as his girlfriend Charlotte. It was alright on the whole, though I have to admit that trying to have a conversation with them both was canny hard work. Not their fault though, talking to people has never been one of my strong points.
Art-wise I've been banging out those artworks like I usually do - and this month I also entered my character Flyer into a contest known as WINNINGisforLOSERS, or WIFL, it's a Smash Bros style contest on DA which has been going for a few years now, and I'd been meaning to enter it for some time now. It's 6 rounds, and Flyer has so far managed to make it through to Round 4. Of course I'll let you know how it all goes in the May blog, but in the meantime, if you want to see the action and see how WIFL works, just click here: http://winningisforlosers.deviantart.com
There has been one thing on my mind all of this month, and long before that - as I type this, it is only 3 weeks till Nicole comes over for 2 weeks, all the way from the east coast of the USA. I've been thinking up places to take her, and I'm really hoping I'll be free for those 2 weeks, as well as the weather improving for then, but above all else, I just want Nicole to have a great time while she's here. I honestly can't wait, and I know she can't either.
Last but not least, I'll leave you with some artwork, as always, and this one was part of an art trade I did between myself and my mate from Scotland, Andy (aka Granitoons on DA):

 "Poker Birds" - Stan the Crow & Lonnie © granitoons.deviantart.com

Gigging it

Recently it was a bit of an anniversary - on April 11 it was 6 years since I went to see Fear Factory at Newcastle University, and it got me thinking about all the gigs that I've been to - so I'm gonna share them with you.


09/12/2004 - The Mad Capsule Markets - Newcastle University
It took me until I was 18 to get to my first proper gig - I'd been a fan of these Japanese punk/metal/techno noiseniks for a couple of years at that point, and when I heard they were coming to Newcastle, I had to be there. Because it was my first gig, it was a bit nerve-wracking being in the venue with so many people, and my clothes choice was a disaster too (baseball cap and tracksuit jacket, I didn't know any better), and I also didn't manage to get a decent spot in the crowd. All the signs of a gig newbie.
I ended up enjoying it though, it was definitely a first - TMCM were a blast from start to finish, playing mostly stuff from their albums OSC-DIS, 010 and their then new CiSTm K0nFLiqT, and there wasn't one bad song.


Support bands: 
Deadpad - uninspiring local industrial band.
McQueen - decent all girl rock band with a shade of Foo Fighters in their sound; bought their "Like I Care" EP at the gig.

The Mad Capsule Markets, Newcastle University, 09/12/2004

19/03/2006 - Fightstar - Newcastle University
Early '06 was when I got into Fightstar, and having been very impressed by their debut album "Grand Unification", I was definitely up for seeing them live.
I made sure to arrive in the queue much earlier this time in order to get a spot closer to the front, which I did - I was canny unprepared for the all the moshing going on! I did have better clothes this time, though.
Fightstar were absolutely spot on, of course they played mostly "Grand Unification" songs, but also slipped a B-side or two in there. Most memorable moment was the finale of "Palahniuk's Laughter", where they had members of support band Reuben join them on stage.
This gig was also my first experience of autograph hunting - braved the cold outside for a while with a few others to attempt to meet with the band, and it paid off - got my pictures took with Charlie Simpson (singer), Al Westaway (guitar) and Omar Abidi (drums), as well as all of their autographs. Quite a way to end the night.


Support bands:
Brigade - featuring Charlie Simpson's bro Will on vocals, they were playing as I came in, and I was pretty impressed. Bought their album "Lights" not long afterwards.
Last Days of April - somewhat bland Swedish indie rock.
Reuben - this was the gig that got me into this band. I'd only heard one song by them previously, which I thought was good, but they completely blew me away live. I've since bought almost all of their albums.

Charlie Simpson of Fightstar, Newcastle University, 19/03/2006

11/04/2006 - Fear Factory - Newcastle University
The aforementioned gig, another highly anticipated one - TMCM and Fightstar are heavy, but Fear Factory are a lot heavier. Couldn't wait to hear FF's industrial metal grooves live, and they certainly did not disappoint, they were on fire throughout, and because this was part of their "15 Years of Fear" tour, they pulled out all the big hits such as "Descent", "Martyr", "Self Bias Resistor", and climaxed in style with their signature song "Replica".
I also got to meet up with the band's singer Burton C Bell afterwards, really down-to-earth dude.


Support bands:
Misery Index - very heavy death-metal sounding band, even though the sound was a bit muddy, they weren't bad at all.
Breed 77 - a metal band from Gibraltar who inccorporate flamenco into their sound, pretty good, and they had some catchy stuff.

 Fear Factory, Newcastle University, 11/04/2006

Me and Fear Factory singer Burton C. Bell

30/08/2006 - King Edward/Red Method/No Libido - The Sportsman, Bishop Auckland
An all-local trio of bands this time round - I had a personal connection to this one, as I was schoolfriends with the lead singer of Red Method, he invited me to come and see his band play.
King Edward were alright, they had some nifty tunes but they didn't really stand out. Red Method on the other hand were brilliant, they played catchy yet heavy post-hardcore, and despite the small crowd there was some crowd-surfing attempted!
However, I thought the best of the trio was No Libido, a female-fronted punk band who had some very mosh-worthy tunes - bought their EP from them that night.
I'm guessing none of these bands are around anymore, but maybe that's how some of them are meant to be - short-term highs.

 King Edward, The Sportsman, 30/08/2006

  Red Method, The Sportsman, 30/08/2006

No Libido, The Sportsman, 30/08/2006

09/10/2006 - Fightstar - Northumbria University
Having enjoyed the first Fightstar gig so much, it was only natural that I had to go and see them again, and they were just as brilliant as they were first time round. Notably different was the venue, it was a little bigger than the university, which made it even better. Also got to meet up with the band a second time.


Support bands:
The Receiving End Of Sirens - solid American post-hardcore, I liked the dual vocalist set-up they had going on.
Oceansize - alternative/prog rock, they had some good moments, but some of their songs dragged in a bit too long. Also, their singer didn't do himself any favours by insulting some of the crowd.

 Fightstar, Northumbria University, 09/10/2006

Me with Fightstar's Charlie Simpson

13/03/2007 - Deftones - Newcastle Academy
Had to pull a few strings to actually get to go to this one, and I had to catch a bus at stupid o'clock to get back home from it - but it was worth it, because there was no way I was going to miss this band.
Found out the hard way just how crazy those mosh-pits can get - I was at the front, right in the middle, and when the Deftones came on and ripped straight into "Be Quiet and Drive", I almost got crushed. I had to clear out of the way in the end, but I didn't let that uncomfortable experience ruin the gig for me.
It goes without saying that the Deftones were amazing from start to finish, they played most of their classics such as "My Own Summer", as well as stuff from their then current album "Saturday Night Wrist". They finished off in explosive style with "7 Words".
Let's just say that my attempt to get their autographs didn't go to plan, however.


Support bands:
Mnemic - French/Belgian/Scandinavian industrial metal band, similar to Fear Factory, and also pretty good.

Deftones' Chino Moreno, Newcastle Academy, 13/03/2007

27/05/2007 - Biffy Clyro - Newcastle University
Anyone who knows me well will know that I'm a huge Biffy Clyro fan, and at the time of this gig I'd gotten into them over the last few months, so of I course I had to see them live. I wasn't alone this time either, my brother Chris tagged along too, and this was his first gig.
Biffy are known for being an awesome live act, and they were exactly that - the amount of energy they put into their performance pretty much blew my socks off. They had originally been going to play mostly songs from their then latest album "Puzzle", but because the release had been delayed, they instead played a handful of old faves such as "Justboy", and "Questions and Answers", though they did play one or two "Puzzle" tunes as well. Best moment was when, to mine and Chris' surprise, they played a song that neither of us expected to hear - "There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake", which is Chris' fave Biffy song. Awesome finale too, with "Glitter and Trauma".
Didn't bother to go after autographs, myself and Chris just wanted our hotel beds after that - but we were exhausted for good reason.


Support bands:
Frank Turner - ex-Million Dead singer, it was just him and his guitar, and he was brilliant, his voice really hit hard, and his songs tell quite some stories. Got his autograph and spoke to him after the gig, really cool down-to-earth fella.
yourcodenameis:milo - I'd heard about this Newcastle band before the gig, but didn't know what they sounded like - wish I'd heard them sooner, because their heavy, space-rockish sound blew me away. Bought their latest album there and then.

Biffy Clyro, Newcastle University, 27/05/2007

09/08/2007 - Eddie & the Hot Rods - Crook Football Club
I remember watching an episode of TOTP 2 a while back, and a band called Eddie & the Hot Rods were featured on it, playing their hit "Do Anything You Wanna Do" on the show way back in 1977. Didn't think I'd actually get to see that same band play in my hometown, but they did.
It's a funny story as to how I actually ended up at the gig - someone I know from my karaoke days (who out of respect will remain nameless) is actually friends with the band, and he helped to get them the gig in Crook. Anyway, he told me about it, so I got a ticket and went along.
Now, to be honest, I'm not really a huge fan of 70's rock, I prefer more modern, later stuff - but I did enjoy the gig, the band really put their all into it, and their singer Barrie Masters might have been in his 60's, but he sure didn't look or act like it. Of course, "Do Anything You Wanna Do" was the standout for me.
I actually spoke to the band and got their autographs, they were a canny bunch - and they even popped into my then local for a drink!


Support bands:
I didn't catch the support band, but apparently I didn't miss much.

Eddie & the Hot Rods, Crook Football Club, 09/08/2007

11/11/2007 - Biffy Clyro - Newcastle Academy
Just like with Fightstar, I just had to see the Biffy again - and I know they say lightning doesn't strike twice, but it did in this case, because they were just on fire throughout. They also had a more elaborate light-show this time, which really added to the atmosphere. They played a lot more "Puzzle" songs this time round, while still slipping in the classics too. There were many highlights including a beautiful rendition of "Machines" with just the singer Simon Neil, his acoustic guitar, a spotlight and loads of fans (me included) singing along. I recall they ended it with "Glitter and Trauma" again.
I did decide to autograph hunt this time - and it took another fan banging on the tour bus window to get the band to come out and see us! They were good about it though, and not only did I get their autographs but I got pictures with all three of them too. All in all, it was a crackin' night.


Support bands:
The Matches - American pop-rock band all dressed in matching red outfits - didn't think too much of them, even though they were canny energetic.
¡Forward, Russia! - similar to the Matches, though a little more off-kilter. Aside from one song, and though they also dressed in matching outfits, they weren't really that memorable.

 Biffy Clyro, Newcastle Academy, 11/11/2007

Me with Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil

22/05/2009 - Eddie & the Hot Rods - Crook Football Club
The Hot Rods decided to return to Crook for another gig 2 years after the first one, so I thought I might as well go and see them again - and it was more or less the same as last time, a good solid performance, with a mix of originals such as "Telephone Girl" and covers such as "Born To Be Wild". However, I heard afterwards that they probably wouldn't be coming back in the future, because apparently the sound operator made such a poor job with the mixing (this happened the first time too). It's a shame, but at least I was able to see them both times.
Somehow, I ended up going into two local pubs with my friend who's friends with the band, plus the band themselves - ended up having an interesting chat with the Hot Rods' singer Barrie Masters. It was a bit of a surreal, but interesting experience on the whole.


Support bands:
Propaganda - a cover band, who I didn't really think very much of - however they did cover a couple of Biffy Clyro songs, which was a plus.

Eddie & the Hot Rods, Crook Football Club, 22/05/2009

So there you have it, that's all the gigs I've been to - no idea if I'll ever get to another one any time soon, but if I do, you'll hear about it here.

Not-so-mad March

Well, the first bit or so of this month was a bit mad...I'm not gonna go into what it was, but me and my brother were quite worried about something, and not surprisingly, it was money related - we got it cleared up though.
Jobsearch-wise, same old, different month. Nothing on the horizon, and I don't hold much hope of that ever changing, to be honest.
Still thinking about going back over to America - it is always there, always on my mind, and I'm not gonna stop thinking about it until I get back there. Whether it's next year or 2014 is another matter.
Had an unexpected heatwave this past week, a rarity over here, so I took the opportunity to go exploring, taking walks up a walking trail near where I live called the Deerness Valley Way - I'd been up there many times before, but only so far along it - and I decided to explore further along it, which turned out to be very worthwhile indeed, as I came across a side trail that led down to a very secluded forest. In there I also came across some sort of hand-made bench, it was like I came across some secret hideout or something. I have to admit, I felt like a kid again doing that.
I also walked further along the main trail to the village of Waterhouses - really quiet place surrounded by a beautiful view, and a nice getaway from all the bustle of the town. I'll definitely be going back there again sometime, and there's still more of the trail to explore too.


Here's some pics I took out on my travels:

Now for the obligatory artwork bit - and it seems I've gotten a little spaced out:

Touch wood, April will be a month without any major hiccups - and it's also another month closer to May, which is going to be canny good.

Then and now

It's funny how things just have a way of reminding you of past memories.
Today, I came across a video of Muse playing "Plug In Baby" on Top of the Pops, exactly 11 years ago today. Not only was that the first song I ever bought, but that was also when I started taping episodes of TOTP to watch again, I built up quite a collection of them too - that's besides the point though.
It got me thinking back to what I was doing back then, back in March 2001 - at the time I was in my fourth year of secondary school, and on work experience at two banks in Bishop Auckland. Round about that time was also when I'd started to get into rock music, and was starting to slowly get away from all the pop/dance stuff I'd been listening to up until then.
It really is weird, looking back - I don't think I ever gave a thought to what I'd be doing 11 years from that point. I certainly never thought I'd get my own place, get to know the people that I've gotten to know, get pretty good at artwork or visit America 3 times before the age of 30, that's for sure. I also never thought that I'd start to realise that a lot of stuff in life isn't as clear-cut as it seems, though pretty much the whole of secondary school was the whole "coming of age" deal that everyone goes through.
That's life though. Stuff has a way of happening that's never the same for any one person.