With it being a new year and all I thought I'd share with you this video of myself and Sarah Howells performing a brand new song of ours called 'Mrs Evans' from the as yet untitled new album (due in 2012) at her flat in West London.
Hope you all like it
Al x
p.s Here's a picture of my little DIY studio (well it's just a microphone and a laptop really) where I'm making my demos in preparation for going into the studio and recording them proper!!
When I last posted something on here I was in the middle of touring with Eleanor McEvoy, so that seems like the logical place to pick up on this new post!
Thanks to everyone who came along to see us on the 'Alone Tour'.
After the Eastney gig we headed North and I got to visit Hebden Bridge and Kendal in the Lake District for the first time. Both places I hope to be going back to in 2012. It was also nice going back to places such as the wonderful High Barn in Braintree and Cox's Yard in Stratford-on-Avon. Every night was an absolute blast providing us with a delightful audience and a gorgeous setting.
Special thanks goes to Eleanor for having me along - she was always on top form every night and set a great example to me as the 'young pup'..! You can see my collection of pictures from the tour here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwwLTqW
On a cold Sunday in October I dropped in on the lovely Jen Long at BBC Wales HQ in Cardiff to perform a few songs for her Introducing in Wales show on Radio 1. I was sad to hear that the BBC are planning to get rid of such shows across the UK in the next round of BBC cuts, it would be a very sad move if the show went as for local bands looking for that initial exposure on radio it is a great platform to get your music heard. Good luck Jen whatever happens x
The following day I travelled down the M5 to Clevedon near Bristol to perform at the most famous Shed in Britain (Shed of the Year no less) for Mr Jon Earl (who you see pictured in his shed)
He's had an array of artists perform in his shed including Eleanor McEvoy and my friends Paper Aeroplanes and Emily Baker so I was pleased to be joining such an illustrious list.
You can view the session here:
http://www.songsfromtheshed.com/Al-Lewis-Session--144(2563961).htm
October also saw the release of my new music video for Treading Water. Directed by the brilliantly talented Rosie Collins - Click here to watch the video: YouTube / Vimeo
I rounded off the month by attending the Welsh Music Prize award ceremony in Cardiff as part of the Swn festival which I was also appearing at during that weekend. It was rather surreal for me to be standing next to James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers and Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals, bands who I'd grown up listening to and then there I was nominated alongside them for 'In the Wake'. Personally it was a great way to celebrate the past year and a bit of releasing and promoting the album as I was accompanied by most of those who'd been involved with me in some way or another in making it!
I didn't take a camera with me but this video gives a flavour of how the night progressed:
Gruff Rhys was a worthy winner and someone who's flown the flag for Welsh music for over a decade so I think he was a good choice for the inaugral winner, my favourite song from his winning album Hotel Shampoo is Space Dust #2 - check it out! I'm a sucker for harmonies/duets!
We kicked things off in Birmingham at the Glee Club - a wonderful place that always treats its artists really well (including the support acts).
Thursday and I was back in London - we were performing at the Irish Centre in Hammersmith. A great place that is sadly threatened with closure but with the support and goodwill of people like Eleanor and the comedian Dara O'Brien among others - hopefully it will survive to live another day!
Friday and it was off to Winchester. One of the few places on this tour that I hadn't yet visited. A pleasant afternoon was spent wandering past the stunning Cathedral and the surrounding streets. Fact of the day - Winchester is the former capital of England - who knew!!
Saturday and it was my birthday, (late twenties in case you're wondering) I was treated to a delicious meal at the 'Le Mistral' French restaurant in Nottingham (go check it out if you're in the area http://www.lemistral.co.uk). The gig that evening was at the Glee again - always a pleasure to play!
Yesterday we were back on the south coast - in Brighton. Lazy Sundays in Brighton are a great way to siphon money on delicious Crepes, Cappuccinos and Smoothies...!
Komedia was a lovely crowd and it was great to see Emily Baker perform again (cheek out her song 'Hit & Run' - tune!)
Which brings us to today and Southsea (where the second of the pier shots is taken)
After today we head back to the Cox's Yard - Stratford upon Avon- a venue I've had the pleasure to play a few times now - so it'll be great to be going back there with Eleanor!
It's been an honour and a pleasure to support Eleanor on this tour. She is a great example of an artist whose longevity is a credit to her songwriting convictions and I hope some of her talent and professionalism will rub off on me!! ;)
Until next time.. X
In light of last night's Mercury Prize I thought I'd let you all know that we now have something similar in Wales....
The 12 albums shortlisted for the inaugural Welsh Music Prize (WMP) were announced last week and I'm pleased to say that 'In the Wake' was one of the albums chosen.
Huw Stephens said: "We are very pleased to launch the Welsh Music Prize with 12 strong albums from Welsh artists. The shortlist is but a reflection on the quality music made in Wales and released internationally. We hope the prize brings these collections of work to a new audience, and we are looking forward to announcing an overall winner on 21 October at Swn Festival."
It is a great honour to have been chosen alongside such great bands/artists all of whom have released such great albums. Here's the shortlist in full:
Al Lewis - In The Wake [Al Lewis Music]
Colorama - Box [See Monkey Do Monkey Records]
Funeral For A Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon [Distiller Records]
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo [Turnstile Music]
Lleuwen - Tan [Gwymon]
Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man [Columbia]
Stagga - The Warm Air Room [Rag and Bone]
Sweet Baboo - I’m a Dancer/Songs About Sleepin’ [Shape Records]
The Blackout - Hope [Cooking Vinyl]
The Gentle Good - Tethered for the Storm [Gwymon]
The Joy Formidable - Big Roar [Atlantic]
Y Niwl - Y Niwl [Aderyn Papur]
To many outsiders the National Eisteddfod can seem like a strange almost other-worldly event that takes place almost in its own reality.
Though it has it's roots in deep druid traditions the Eisteddfod is now much more than simply a chance for Welsh speakers to congregate in one place and reminisce - it is a celebration of the language and of music/art/theatre/prose all eminating from Wales.
The BBC sent the Welsh tenor Wynne Evans to the site this year for him to experience the Eisteddfod first-hand. The show which aired on Sunday is a nice snippet of all that goes-on and even features a guest appearance by no-other than myself :)
You can catch it again on iPlayer here for a few more days: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01350b3/Eisteddfod_with_Wynne_Evans/
I had one of my busiest weeks at the Eisteddfod this year. It began on Monday night with the concert in the Pink Pavilion with a full-blown orchestra. Myself and Arwel had the privilege to have our songs arranged for the Orchestra by the talented John Quirk. It was quite an experience to hear the songs in such a different setting and great to share the stage with such legendary Welsh acts from across the ages - Meic Stevens. Elin Fflur, Caryl Parry Jones, Tecwyn Ifan and Huw Chiswell.
Tuesday began quite sedately with a couple of nice acoustic shows at the Mantais tent on the site. That was quickly followed by our first 'Band' show on the Main Performance Stage which conveniently is located next to the beer tent :)
It worked out well that as we came on the sun began to shine and there was a nice group of people sitting/listening to the music enjoy a nice cold refreshment! In the evening we played a show at Central Station for 'Cymdeithas yr Iaith' (Welsh Language Society) alongside Daniel Lloyd and Mr Bryn Fon. Sufficed to say there were a few pints consumed that night!
Wednesday saw us once again performing on the Eisteddfod site itself and we were also invited to do an acoustic set for Alan Thompson's Evening Show on BBC Radio Wales which was broadcasting live from Wrexham for the whole week.
Which brings us back nicely to Thursday and the performance for the TV Crew following Wynne Evans around the Eisteddfod!
All in all quite a busy week, filled with many a highlight and memories to keep.
Finally for those of you who are interested - Al Lewis Band will be appearing on the first episode of the new series of Nodyn which starts this Friday (12th) on S4C (you many remember pictures that were taken from the shoot on a previous blog).
http://www.s4c.co.uk/cerddoriaeth/e_nodyn.shtml
So this has been an incredible couple of days for gigs!
Yesterday morning I found out that one of my heroes Jackson Browne was the special guest on the couple of dates that Jonathan Wilson was doing here in London this week (Thank You Twitter). So I duly booked my tickets for the show last night at the Borderline in Soho and held my breath in the hope that the rumours were indeed true. As these picture can testify they were.....
It was a great show and we were treated to Browne classics "These Days" and "Take it Easy" and Dawes (his backing band along with Jonathan Wilson) were great in their own right too! Check them out: http://www.dawestheband.com/
On Sunday I got to see another of my idols James Taylor in Cardiff - another brilliant show from one of the founding fathers of the 'Laurel Canyon Collective' along with Jackson Browne. He finished the set with "You've Got A Friend" the Carole King classic!
I think next on my list of people I need to see live is The Boss.....!
