a week today, Alice Gold, The Robert Lane Band and Tara at Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath

I had a really lovely time at Bay Leaf Restaraunt on valentines night, playing for about 2 hours in all for people enjoying the beautiful food (and it really is beautiful, I sampled it before I played!) Thanks to Aftab and all the guys at The Bay Leaf, hope to be back soon.

Since my last post the tickets for my gig supporting the superb Alice Gold have arrived. If you would like one get in touch with me rlane110@hotmail.com

The gig is on the 6th of March at Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath, Birmingham.

Find out more about Alice Gold at her website alicegold.com

Here's one of her tracks...

Valentine's Night at Bay Leaf

On Valentine's night I will be performing at Birmingham restaurant Bay Leaf...

Come and celebrate valentines with us. Enjoy a sumptuous three course meal with live music to set the scene for a perfect romantic evening. This is available for a special price of £20.00 as this is our first valentines. Be sure to book early to avoid disappointment.

Bay Leaf
Unit 16/17
The Green House
2 Gibb Street
Digbeth
B9 4AA
T: 0121 224 7700
E: info@bayleaf-restaurant.co.uk

Here's some more information about Bay Leaf;

Bay Leaf is an exciting new venture for Aftab Rahman, who is also joint owner of Mint Indian and Bangladeshi Cuisine in Yardley, Birmingham. With a passion for authentic Bangladeshi food and the arts, Aftab has drawn his inspiration for Bay Leaf from his life in Birmingham and his Bangladeshi heritage.

Bay Leaf is situated in the heart of Birmingham's Custard Factory, the city's growing independent sector. It offers an alternative to many of the city's restaurant with its commitment to provide quality authentic Bangladeshi food, which is organic where possible.

Alice Gold

I'm thrilled to say I'll be supporting Alice Gold at Hare and Hounds in Birmingham on the 6th of March.

I first heard Alice on Radio 2 with her single Runaway Love last spring, and thought it was very cool indeed...



Alice has toured with Eels, Athlete, Band Of Skulls, Noah And The Whale and The Pierces and released an excellent album, Seven Rainbows "...an album that transcends any accepted conventions of ‘female singer-songwriter’, it lays the foundations for a rock star." - BBC

Tickets: http://bit.ly/95LEUq
Doors: 7:00pm
Ages: 18+

Find out more about Alice www.alicegold.com

I felt genuinely sick when my Takamine acoustic guitar fell over and cracked it's head stock





Sick like I imagine a person might feel if they broke an arm and were confronted with a jagged edge of blood stained bone erupting from their ruptured skin.

Luckily whilst on Facebook a few days later I had a bit of a brain wave and decided to contact my friend in the blues Chicken Bone John. Until fairly recently John was the co founder and host of the Crossroads Blues Club, a place that has been very important to me. He now designs, makes and sells Cigar Box Guitars. I had a chat with him and he kindly offered to take a look at my Taky.

I visited John in his workshop and the first thing he did was loosen the strings and express surprise that the headstock didn't completely fall off...if anything this would have been better he said as he would have a clean break to work with. In the event the break probably looked a bit worse than it was, and John was fairly confident that some strong glue and an overnight rest in a "mini jack" would fix the wound. It things proved a bit more complicated then it might be necessary to break the headstock off...he wouldn't do that while I was there though!!

Being so busy making custom guitars for customers around the world I was expecting that it would be a while before I heard any more, but that very evening John posted this on Facebook

and sent me the following message;
The patient is currently responding well to treatment and is expected to have a quiet night. The surgical procedure entails being strapped down firmly overnight with the break glued and clamped shut in a jig. The cosmetic surgeon will be visiting the ward in the morning to review the situation.

Happily the next day all was well, and I was able to pick up the guitar. She was all back together, playing great and with the slightest of marks which I actually think looks quite cool



So many thanks to John for fixing my workhorse guitar (I teach and gig with this guitar all the time, that's why it gets battered.) It was good fun hanging out with John and getting a look at some of the beautiful guitars he creates. I will definitely be getting myself a Cigar Box Guitar made at some point soon.

Check out John's website
and facebook

January 22nd at The Yardbird

I'm performing at The Yardbird on Sunday the 22nd of January as part of an event organised by Birmingham Promoters. Also on the bill are;

Bowen & The Tide

Regal

Velvet Riot

Jack The Biscuit

Louise Petit

The gig is free entry and starts at 6.30pm. My stage time is 7.15pm

Paradise Place
Birmingham
B3 3HJ

New Years Eve Quiz on Milkbar Podcast

Last night I went along to the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton to play some songs during the New Years Eve Quiz on the Milkbar Podcast.

I'd been asked along by the programme's presenter Jason Forrest, who had also arranged for a very varied array of Wolverhampton and West Midlands based lumanaries to take part in the quizz. They included an Elizabethan instrument maker, an often topless Wolves fan and a cooking Dentist. I'll provide some more information and links for them all later.

I peformed a tune in the breaks between each round, and had a really cool time. I also got a go on a Hurdy Gurdy.

My understanding is that the show will be broadcast on New Years Eve on 101.8WCRfm and available as a podcast at the same time. I will confirm the details ASAP.