It’s been the busiest week in a while. The Curry I cooked yesterday adhered to the general rule with such foods; it tasted better than it did when I made it when it was reheated the next day. That is to say, today. I’ve been relaxing in the park for an hour or two here in North Bristol.

This week has been a mismatch of organized chaos. Moving into a shiny new rehearsal studio, I’ve been getting equipment set up and organizing logistics of the 3 bands that will be sharing the space with me. It’s a dream. Almost unlimited practice time, the motivation to do it, and an even deeper connection to the wonderful core team. I’ve decided to front the cash and set the operation up in a kind of pyramid scheme method so I can keep final say over sessions and make the most of the room. This has worked really well so far, everyone happy, and grateful to not have the responsibility of the task of logistics.

 

Living in the van I’ve been converting to a live-in/ tour van/ PA hire work van for 2 months has given me the assurance that if the plan is a slow starter, I won’t really notice financially because of the money I’ve saving on rent. So It’s been fresh coffee in bed, a different front garden nearly every day and a couple of sneaky urban pees!

 

I want to investigate how much I can delve into self-sustaining myself in a city, within reason, and within a certain level of comfort. What I mean by this is, avoiding transferring stress or wastefulness directly to a different kind.

 

Music performances this week have been a lot of fun. The Gin Bowlers Last night a 2am after show gig in the streets of Bristol’s central outdoor venue, Stokes Croft, was our contribution to the weekend madness before loading the van after the gig. Today will be a more modest affair playing locally at a friendly couples’ wedding. Interestingly enough ( for those of you who know it) they’ve requested ‘You rascal you’ as the first dance. Look it up. It’s totally inappropriate! Parking the van might be tricky- the marathon is tomorrow.

 

So, as the week goes on and as people settle into the studio and my urban spell of “#vanlife” (hmm) grows nearer to it’s end, and I swap the full time van living back for my room, I will be at the studio, practicing. That, in the words of Dave King, is how you get the gig.