Abagail Grey

Life is good.....

Two of my friends are convinced that the infrastructure of society as we know it will collapse within the next five years and we will regress, living like wolves, fighting for survival and stealing from one another - violence and chaos will prevail. The land will no-longer be owned by individual people. The people who fight the hardest and work the land the best will survive. One of these two friends is so convinced of this that she has gone on a training course for basic survival skills to ensure that she will be suitably equiped when the time comes. 

This morning listening to radio 4 I heard that a geomagnetic storm or solar storm in space could severely damage the national grid causing longterm blackout resulting in the total collapse of society as we know it. A neclear weapon detonated in the sky creating a strong electromagnetic pulse would have the same effect.

I'm sitting in a coffee shop right now enjoying a latte, taking full advantage of the free wifi and wondering where my motivations will take me next. I realise that things are vulnerable, but sitting here in the comfort and warmth I feel no fear - I just think - 'that's never gonna happen', maybe I'm wrong but it's what my mind prefers. Life is good right now, everything could change in an instant, but right now, at this moment, things are good. 

Notepad

Black bendy cover, no lines, approximately A5 size with a piece of black elastic which would stretch from the back cover over the front cover making sure it stayed closed. I imagined myself writing stuff down then closing the notebook and placing the elastic over the front cover – I could hear it snap with a sense of accomplishment and finality. I could feel the bendiness in my hand. I could see myself at meetings, taking the book from my pocket, removing the elastic and jotting down some piece of relevant information. I planned to put to do lists at the front and creative thoughts at the back and eventually they would all meet in the middle and I would then fill up the other spaces until every morsel of blank page had something on it, then I would buy another notebook and eventually I would have a collection. As I walked through the wind toward WH Smith my excitement grew. I knew this notebook would enhance my life.

Here’s what happened. I went straight to the stationary department, all the notebooks had lines, the only item that seemed remotely close was an A5 refill pad but really it was less than satisfactory. I located a lady with a badge and told her what I was after and she said – “Ah, try the fashion stationary section downstairs”. So I ventured, full of hope, and there it was, the perfect notebook. Full of glee I picked it up, I held it in my hand – it was beautiful, small, ordinary and exactly what I had in mind. Then the shock, this very small ordinary notepad was expensive, probably 3 times what I would be willing to pay for such an item. I stood flummoxed for about five minutes, biting my lip and frowning. I picked it up, put it down, picked it up, put it down and then I walked out of the shop with the A5 refill pad.

I fear I made the wrong decision……………

 

The Send Button

For people like me the send button should be protected by a code or a complex puzzle. It should be hidden, there should be something in place to ensure that thoughts have been properly processed, a system sensitive to spontaneous impulsive urges that are almost always far from sensible…………………the send button should have a human quality, it should say ‘No…………wait until morning and then decide’. 

Today I curse the send button and myself for misusing it!!

 

Water and Kite Flying

I had wanted to fly a kite, to lift the melancholy, to feel the cold air, colour and force. We live in a windy place but as we drove to our kite flying destination we noticed that the trees were still. We arrived to find flat calm veiled by a dank mist and thick precipitous cloud. No wind, not even a light breeze, just dead cold damp calm.

The loch was completely frozen over; it was so still and beautiful. I had my video camera, things felt right. Sometimes the brain just needs a bit of space and light and the lungs need a bit of true clean air. Emily and Oscar danced and I sang  - we decided to try to make a music video, well at least haphazardly try– there was no plan, only amazing scenery, little visibility and very enthusiastic participants.

Here it is: Water by Abagail Grey

This song will be released as part of the next batch....................................

 

 

Memory made......

The city graveyard is a large mound / small hill, and, judging by the symmetry and perfection of its shape, I would say it’s a man-made.

We ran through an area called The Islands, a park with big old trees, bridges and estuaries shooting from the expansive fast flowing river. It’s a beautiful place, especially at that time in the morning, the sky was a luminous stoney grey, almost blue, it promised cold and rain and wind and we were lucky enough to be there while it was soft and still like a wild animal slowly stirring after a long restful sleep.

It was 7am, we had a little bag containing three nectarines (one each) and some oatcakes, we hoped to see the sunrise.

Our cheeks were flushed and our bodies were warm despite the ice underfoot. Our bellies were full of laughter and sometimes when the laughter took over, we’d have to stop and let it all out.   We talked of Sonja and her ability to perfectly impersonate 80’s power ballads and how she should have kept her job at the Curry Karaoke bar becoming a Nordic karaoke queen. We wondered why she had paid a tenner to watch a girl dressed like Madonna (silver outfit with cone bra) scratch a balloon into a microphone – I can’t imagine a more terrible noise.

When we got to the gates of the graveyard they were locked, a man in a van and an orange boiler suit came along with a key. He told us to watch out for the ice on the path.

We ran to the top, took some photos, ran back down, bought some doughnuts.

THE END

 

 

Rachel Sermanni

In April last year I found myself in Los Angeles. Abagail Grey - who, at that time, were a five piece band had been invited to play at an event called Musexpo, it was very exciting, as new adventure always is. We rented an apartment in Hollywood not far from the W Hotel where the smoozing event was to take place. A fellow highlander Rachel Sermanni was going to be staying with us, we'd only met briefly, once before, in the past. 

On day one Rachel and I hunted for porridge, we found a supermarket close to the house. Porridge is very important and surprisingly difficult to find in a LA supermarket - they have many variations: porridge with maple syrup, caramel porridge, instant porridge - the list is endless.  We just wanteed plain old bruised oat with nothing added, this was more difficult and it took time. Rachel persevered and eventually we found what we were looking. 

On day two we set off for the W hotel, this involved walking a short distance, people tend not to walk in LA so the streets are very quiet. It was hot out, the sun was beating down, I was wearing shorts, T-shirt and sandals (new sandals). We were chatting away about this and that when suddenly she shouted 'STOP'. My whole body froze, I looked down, and there it was, the biggest dog poo in the world ever and I was about to put my scantily clad foot right in it. Rachel - I am forever grateful. 

Apart from being an eater of porridge, a dog poo alarm and a warm, honest and genuinely lovely human being, Rachel is a singer songwriter of the highest order. She's doing some shows at the moment and releasing an EP...............click on her name to find out more, this young talent is definitely worth supporting.

Showcase Scotland at Celtic Connections

 

Corridors of collapsible stands in a brightly lit room in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow - each stand about 2 metres wide and one metre deep. The back wall was grey and carpeted, I covered mine with posters (image above), we were each assigned a red table which we stood behind, this is where I put the vinyl, cd’s and flyers.  Our stand looked good – Emily took some photos, we laughed a lot and spent the day selling the concept of Abagail Grey to festival organisers and agents from all over the World.

 

By 2pm we were exhausted - explaining what music sounds like is much harder than playing it. I had the beginnings of a cold and my voice was slowly disappearing – this worried me, I was set to perform to the trade fair delegates at 1pm on the following day.  An early bed and copious amounts of hot water and lemon were the order of the evening. I went back to the hotel to nurse my larynx and sleep.

The following day…………………………

I rang a bell on a big old door of a big old building on Bath Street in Glasgow. It was a cold morning and my voice was still sore despite my efforts. I’d never heard of The Glasgow Art Club and didn’t know what to expect but from the moment I entered the building I loved the place.  Everything about it felt good, the open fires, the paintings, the welcome, the bustle of the sound checking Catalonian band, the old wooden floors and furniture and the deep rich colours. It felt as if I’d walked into a place of warmth, character and history.

The grand piano was set up in the corner, open fires were blazing at both ends of the large room called the Gallery. There was a stage in the middle of the back wall but Derek and I were set to perform on the floor because of the piano.

I sang fairly well despite my groaning larynx - it was a pleasure to play in such a beautiful room, everyone listened. Derek played and sang with his usual immaculate precision and emotion – he’s a great musician and has that certain something that can’t be taught or practised into.

And that was Showcase Scotland – more than just a place to make contacts………………it’s a gathering of likeminded people, a place where new musical ideas get the air time they deserve and the boundaries of folk and traditional music are stretched a little more.

By the time I got home to Inverness I couldn’t speak at all, and the following day I could only muster a whisper. Today I sound like a heavy smoker in her eighties………………….l wonder about tomorrow – I miss my voice.

 

Happiness and Leonard

'Walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme.......It was repeating over and over in my head, it's a lovely line, from the Leonard Cohen song That's No Way to Say Goodbye.  It seems, when I'm walking along thinking, that somewhere in my brain away from dominant thought, I have a soundtrack playing - maybe everyone does, it can be annoying especially when the brain attaches itself to the last song heard. Yesterday I was lucky. The morning was fresh and cold, very cold. I thought about many things, pondering various possibilities and I felt as if my future was as bright as the frosty winter sky. I love that feeling, striding out into the day, feeling no fear or sadness, believing that all badness has been banished and that all things are tinged with beauty. 

With my best friend by my side and Leonard lilting gently in the back of my mind.

That's No Way To Say Goodbye

Tremendous plants....

I'm currently working on an album with Chris Geddes and Tony Doogan. Five tracks are finished, a further three are almost finished and three are still in their early stages.

The songs keep on growing and changing, each one is like a tremendous plant with a will of it's own, and, if the conditions are perfect then each tremendous plant will reach a stage of glorious bloom. We try to make the conditions perfect but, as with all things in nature, there are variables and randoms which ultimately make it more challenging, more interesting and more worthwhile. 

I have self released three albums and a single so far. I've organised many live events, promoted shows and dealt with most of my own PR. It's hard but enjoyable work, however, the time has come for me to concentrate fully on making and performing songs.  The music manager is also a nurturer of tremendous plants but in a different way. I feel like I've been tending two gardens and it's time for me to let one of them go.

I'm heading to Celtic Connections next week and will be performing and generally buzzing around at Showcase Scotland. This is where I start my search for the other gardener, hopefully I find one with an honest face!!!

 

 

Progress

All I’ve done today is fuss around with computers.

Fuss fuss fuss.

It feels like a waste of time even though I know I have to do it to get to where I want to go. I spent the afternoon searching for affordable video editing software, reading reviews etc, I finally decided to go for Adobe Premier Elements and I’m currently downloading the free trial which takes around 3 hours!! Why can’t these things just magically appear? Now I have no chance of completing my mission before the end of the day. It being: to learn how to use said software to bring the music videos I have stored in brain into realms of reality……….

Watch this space…….