Well then, these past sixteen months have been interesting times for us here - the Cumbrian music scene has seen the break-up of Cumbrian bands like Shattered Pieces, & Sweet Zombie Jesus! - which made me feel a bit gutted really, having not long joined SZJ as lead guitarist, and with shattered pieces prior to that, kinda makes me feel a bit like i've cursed them, but sometimes i think perhaps it's just making way for new things. Only gig under my belt since the 90's, was Joan & Les's Wedding with SZJ, a night primarily remembered by me for It's similarities to My n lilmmissmuffet's wedding, and indeed the differences. A fantastic day had by all, with excellent beers, and West Cumbrian Metal Bands playing at both, SZJ @ Les n Joan's wedding, and SZJ & Blind Mountain at ours. at least i think so. I drank for 12 and a half hours solid on our wedding day - wheras at Les n Joan's, as I was playing the 2nd set with SZJ (at that time, as their new lead guitarist) i'd already decided to stay sober. Of course me being me, the night before the gig i managed to cause myself 2nd degree burns to all the fingertips, thumb, parts of my fingers, and also part of the palm of my right hand. I'd rather not go into the detail of exactly how i managed that, but hey, i can be a clumsy git at times. So, "God of Oblivion" & "Pure Violence" later, i really grasped the concept of exactly how hard it was to try and play well onstage for the first time in a long time, having only done one proper gig prior, and a halt was called to the second set. Not the first gig with SZJ i'd hoped it to be, but hey, I did it. March / April 2006 were most enoyable months in The Three Tuns for me, Upon Bitter Ground Playing, and TunsFest! - where the likes of Blind Mountain, Hollowpoint, Sweet Zombie Jesus!, Innominate, Shattered Pieces, & others who all played for free. The John Dugan's Blues Band (With John Branch on drums & Unyan on bass all playing superbly) was a particular high-light for me, having never been into Blues that much, once again John Dugan & his compadre's showed that they can cut it. Brilliant. Click here for page 2