10..9..8..7..6

The countdown , the deadline... 10 days before our funding application has to be in for financial support to get to Edinburgh. we travelled to Colchester yesterday for a meeting with the wonderful producer Kate Harvey...you remember Dinning With Alice, Walking.. she was one of the main folks making them happen, even if you don't like massive outdoor theatre...it's an amazing feat to have a job where you make fun things happen for pleasure and enjoyment of others....just a thought....so, the funding application.. a combination of hoop jumping and small boxes to make you really think about what you are actually trying to do! Reality strikes. Kate was good on advice... just to say that the people reading the applications have loads to read in a week, so use the return key to make lots a space between sentences... I like this simple advice. Also good on over-looked stuff like cost of licences for a non venue show. Still my biggest mountain is finding a house, with a wide frontdoor on pavement level.. where we can take over, make a noise and invite people in for two shows a day and live there.. I'm gonna telephone Edinburgh City Council.... wish me luck!

Edinburgh Klang Haus Hunt

We are looking for a Klang Haus in Edinburgh. For 8 of us to live there and perform there, twice a day, inviting an audience of 10-15 people in. We need to be able to make noise at certain times of day and to have good access to the building for all sorts of folks. A few rooms, lots of character, thick walls, in The Meadows area of Edinburgh, EH9 would be ideal.

The Road to Edinburgh

These next few weeks will be crucial in making a show in Edinburgh happen. I need to find a house for us to inhabit, in the city centre of Edinburgh. We want to live there and perform there everyday during August as part of the Fringe Festival. I need to ask for help. In order for people to understand what help we need, I will explain the show. The show is called Klang Haus a version of which we performed in our house during Norwich Sound and Vision. What is Klang Haus? Allow me to explain over the next few days. For now I will order my thoughts.

Achtung - Meat, Mash, Veg.

Whilst talking about the tea towel today, the story of it's design, by Leo of BK and Dad, revisited me. The CND symbol was inspired by a dreadful food experience during our Butcher Of Common Sense Residency in Berlin. Inspired by a meal purchased from the Bonjour Garage, adjacent to the Nalepastrasse Funkhaus, in deepest Eastern Berlin. The 'food' sat in a plastic container, divided into three, like a CND symbol, separating, meat, mash and veg. When Jon plopped a little of the meat from one section into the mash section, he coined the phrase, 'Dog shit in sand'.It was too cold in the room to laugh and it wasn't funny because that was the food for the evening. Not really... we laughed til we forgot we were hungry and ate currywurst with the Tacheles rats a few hours later. You can own your very own Achtung tea towel, it specialises in drying crockery and cutlery and doubles up as an emergency liquid spill absorber, can be used on face.

Butcher Resuscitation Miracle

In salute to the Butcher of Common Sense and the journey 9 of us took to Berlin, I am resuscitating images and sound files that lay buried, left out of the Butcher book, left off the album and vinyl, the left-overs... but oh how good they are to revisit... The Butcher's feast continues to feed our hunger.

Feeding the Dutch

When touring with music, theatre, whatever travelling you do, food becomes paramount. We had our brilliant friend Bas Pfaff bring his band to Norwich to play at The Playhouse Bar last night. The gig was great...really loud guitars Queens of The Stoneage-esque growling stuff! Our meals together were the wonderful accompaniment to the show. Sharing food is the best way to connect. I am a poor example when it comes to sharing food, as my favourite habit is walking along the street and eating at the same time...I was reminded this weekend that food holds the key to friendship. Jon made a massive stew and then this morning we treated the Dutch/French to Norwich Porridge...reluctantly they agreed to sample it....they said they would need something to join them on the ferry journey...the storm hit last night and the channel will be choppy! Well...they couldn't get enough of it....sail safe Dutch-Frenchie...keep that boat afloat with yer Norwich porridge ballast!

Klang Haus x 8

I didn't write about Klang Haus, I think I was too in it, to reflect. doing 4 shows back to back and then another 4 shows back to back the next day was all consuming. What a privilege, being looked after but 6 crew/volunteers/friends so we could invite strangers safely into our home, plunge them into darkness, roar load music at them, recite extraordinary text through an Ulsterman and listen together. Looking into the darkness then shape-shifting the room with Sal's exquisite slides and films. Doing 8 shows in quick succession allows you to live in it. This is what folks said in response to coming.... 'It's so strange how the room changed once it began. It felt bigger, huge in the dark - but a sitting room all the time. A room full of hypnotised strangers.' 'There was one moment when Jon was at the piano, that a blue projection lit him up and I felt very moved, very beautiful.' 'I wouldn't say I had expectations, no, but I knew it wouldn't be normal.' 'This should be happening more, but I don't know who else could.' 'At times we had to focus to be sure we weren't missing anything..... the darkness sharpened me up..... the pitch black, yes. I heard my heart beat. I didn't want to miss anything. It was so rich. very rich, yes.' 'Was it loud? I got really caught up in it, I couldn't tell.' 'I jumped at the loud bit. Then couldn't keep my eyes off the red guitarist in case he did it again'. 'It's the loudest thing I have heard in a house.' 'Are they German?' 'That was really beautiful, that intimacy.' 'I have a confession to make, I am a foreign man....but I hear you have had great sound in your house.' 'You had to be here. I'll find this hard to explain now, after tonight. You had to be there, inside.' 'It was my favourite gig this year. Does your home have ghosts? I felt someone walk past me in the complete darkness.'