June
13 – The Railway, Winchester
14 – Century Theatre , Coalville
15 – The High Barn, Braintree
16 – The Ironworks, Oswestry
19 – The Halfmoon, Putney,
20 – The Studio, Totnes
21 – Mylor Sessions, Falmouth
22 – Somerset Cider and Cheese Fest, Taunton
26 – West End Centre, Aldershot - On Sale Soon
27 – The Flowerpot, Derby
August
23 – River Cottage, Axminster

You will find ticket links are on the ‘Tour’ page, when shows go on sale we will update the website.

Dear Bill,

Sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote to you. As you may know I’ve been recording a new album in Texas. It’s now in the mixing stages and due for release in the US around August. I’ve also been in New Orleans and LA with photographer and friend Nigel Crane AKA the ‘Attorney’ (more the kind of attorney Hunter S Thompson would employ than someone you might call if you fell off a step ladder at work or got your hair stuck in a lathe). The purpose of this trip was to take some promotion shots for the new and as yet untitled album. Apart from breaking into a derelict amusement park and meeting a nice man with one leg and a large automatic rifle (another story), we had the privilege of a slightly more legal shoot on the Sony pictures lot in LA. On arrival I noticed the Ghostbusters wagon and the car from the Green Hornet parked at the gates and couldn’t resist the opportunity for a quick pic. I think I still have a home made proton pack made from Hoover parts and an ice cream tub covered in tin foil if you felt like re-enacting a few of my fave scenes from the movie over a couple of beers sometime???. Please find enclosed aforementioned picture of me trying to look cool in front of your old station wagon.

Call me,

Martin XX

So there I was in the breaking dawn, wrapped up in my alpine clothes like a giant child wondering if it was safe to leave the refuge for any length of time. With a night of little sleep behind me and a mountain to climb, I checked my pack and adjusted my gear. As usual, the good humour of those around me and the good old ‘Keep calm and carry on’ attitude was stronger than my desire to opt out and nurse my gurgling, empty and unpredictable stomach. We set off, crampons crunching through the brilliant snow up towards the peak. From there on a mixture of one step in front of the other and cursing got me through the day. Some encouragement from Mike, Nouri and Seb certainly helped. That ranged from friendly support to ‘Come on Looser’. I can’t say it’s the easiest thing I’ve done and we we’re certainly not the fastest to summit that day but I think we definitely earned it. I had been at much higher altitude in the Himalaya, which led to the foolish assumption that this would be a much easier climb. It wasn’t. Each mountain has its own character, environment and set of rules. Some hours later we were sitting under the cobalt blues sky, prayer flags and mementos from other climbers eating generous portions of bread and cheese at our bizarre 4200 meter picnic. Relief was the strongest emotion at this point. Birds happily picked at crumbs and torpedoed from the peak into the long, deep silence. Mike fell asleep on a ledge. We all took deep breaths in the thin air and surveyed the rest of the world for what might have been the first time.

Hope to see you at the shows.

All the best,

Martin