Lake District Sketch

White Moss Tarn, Grassmere

Nico

I want an arm to gnaw on
I want a hand to bite
I want to pretend I'm asleep
when I'm looking for a fight

I want to eat what you are eating
I don't want chicken
I want to go through every door
I don't know what I'm missing

I want to sit on your shoulder
while you are trying to read
I want to crawl up your legs
while you are brushing your teeth

I want to clean myself
like i've got OCD
I want to relieve myself
while you are in the vicinity

I want to go crazy
at least 15 times a day
and I want to be lazy
while you lot are earning your pay

Frosted Leaf, Crumpled Leaf (left to disintegrate)

I fell down here
waiting for
the slightest breeze

How will you find me
buried so far
underneath

We bloomed so briefly
when we first kissed
last spring

But our colours faded
as soon as the sun
had gone in

And I watched each fall
one by one
until the end

Jumper Poem

I like jumpers
All types of jumpers
People jumpers
People in jumpers
People jumping in jumpers
Jumpers

Woolly jumping jumpers
Woolly jumping fully-jumpered jumping smiling jumpers
Just jumpers
Plain and simple jumpers
Complicated, pretty and sickly jumpers
Jumpers that are cheap and nasty
Smashing jumpers
Green jumpers
You wish you were a jumper
Don't laugh
You wish you were and that's a fact!

I like to pretend i'm a jumper
A jumping jumper
Watch me jump i'm a jumper!
Who'd rather be sat when they can be a jumper?

I'm joking now
The jumpers i really like
Are the type you can wear to keep you warm
They are 'functional jumpers'
They are worn for a purpose
But they can still be beautiful jumpers

You usually see old men in them
Because they know how to wear a jumper
And when you buy them second hand
They still smell of the last old man
But in that smell there is 'jumper knowledge'
The experience of jumpers which can't be bought
It can be obtained only through years of 'jumper dedication'

Now I wish this was something i had
But as much as i love jumpers
I still like hats quite a bit too
And if i had to choose between them
As silly as this may sound
I would probably choose to be a hat
Because a hat can still be useful when sat
And a jumper is only any good when he's off the ground

Sketch

Tomorrow shall I chance
to sit amongst the dirt & pigeon droppings?
Shall I draw some old, grey statue
while above me they are planning my downfall?

And when I look up to watch them fly
I'll find they've gone and sullied
another one of my sketches

Balloon

Even if you weren't wonderful
and your shoes weren't cool
even if your hair was grey
I'd still love you

But because you're as wonderful
as a lovely blue balloon
by the time I found you
you were halfway to the moon

Drawings

Some drawings I did, mostly from a sketchbook I was using during Art Academy, summer 2006 onwards.

Louie approaches, running

Peel Park in the afternoon


Night & Day with wet feet

Helmut & Kerry's dog

View from bus

The sound of a beer can with rain

Sun on Mertz Bahn

Salford in rushhour

Shadows

Dockyards

College sketchbook

Some drawings I did on art foundation.

Fliers

Some fliers I did (mostly), for events I have organised/co-organised or played at in the past!

This was one of my the first fliers and the second gig Amida played in Manchester a long long time ago....

Another early Amida gig. The drawing is based on the film 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari', which I absolutely love!

I can't remember who did this flier but it is for a night I used to co-run called 'Fight This' and it may be the first/last time I ever try to run a club night!

The first gig that Amida played with our current line-up and the drawing is of Wawel Castle in Krakow.

Another Amida gig! This one was a disaster as far as I remember. Perhaps the upside-down duck was a bad omen.

The first Jamboree & I really stretched the limits of how illegible a flier can be. A memorable evening, particularly for the balloons & box-headed spoons.

Second Jamboree. Flier by Kyle. Nathaniel played instead of Cooties Attack and felt tip pens took the place of balloons.

I really enjoyed this gig, particularly for the playdoh animal sculptures and giant dog costume.

Unfortunately this one got cancelled as the venue closed down and they forgot to tell us!

More venue problems, eventually moved to Saki Bar and narrowly avoided cancellation.

Another potential disaster was saved due to some microphone sharing/shouting from Hotpants Romance!

Slightly odd afternoon show but lots of fun as I remember, despite the lack of people.

Noise + pop = two of my favourite things.

Mrs Cakehead cancelled, despite having the flier dedicated to them. The first time I'd seen Shrieking Violets/ Jam On Bread though and thankfully not the last. Ended with us all making lots of noise!

Slightly disappointed at the lack of beards but will go down as one of my favourite Jamboree's anyway.

Another classic Jamboree line-up! Flier by Kyle.

A one day event called Strawberry Shortcake which was pretty close to my dream line-up at the time.

In collaboration with Cherryade Records. Not many people but I think it was St Patrick's Day which might explain why.

Fiier by April Preston. Bands played in the kitchen and we built a roof in the garden out of bin bags held down by bags of rocks. There were a few minor injuries but nothing serious.

Another drawing of my cat Nico

A drawing of my cat Nico

Berlin Geräusche

Morning

tractor glockenspiele la di da ghostly moans tip toe swimming baths & three blind mice eeek eek on a steam train owowowoow munch papa

cobwebs speaking fountain whistle err err errshshshhshshshhsbrrrr raraargh elv little marbles pouring from fountain & train sneezes propeller doors growl explosive nose middle class gentle chatter
boy spins
more engine rumbles
und taxi ok ja
balk like telephones
feet shuffling urhrhrdrip
shellllurhlll..arog...........

..

How the mighty fell

Ich bin snake slither round babytoes nein akkkah uh bad train jazz trumpeter da dit da dum di do do do da doo olodadurdur dur dur dur da
clitter clattercoins gruffvoice silent bite low murmur or er o r er or
::heavy metal low on ears
taps finger-book earthquakes
shudder takes form cutwood
water spray or er or er mansaw
mowlawn brush the crumbs
sshsh spin spin or zzzzzzzz hahahhahahrurrlz green shoes tap foot tap or er or er or cough
rusty joints rumble
if your brother grrrrrrar
faintly treptower park sinzor er or rattle wittenburg rattle
how the mighty fell

..

Jelly trains

German heavy breathing cobbled stones folk song in a forest green raincoat as we chug along rats & trains reluctant to bicycle sandwich rapper siren rattlenake devin dun in ballet shoes monster unn ehhum ehhum um err unehm tweet tw rusty brakes waves ////cars/// sing a song behappy
delicate feet
whistle tourists
sie neopunk
jelly trains
da da da

..

Einsteigenzuruckkleinbitte

zuruck klein bitte fridge bell auf sweet ghosts on tracks cough hollow hospital einsteigen bitte zurukklein bitte urrrr urrr shshshsh bells whisper hhhhhhh revolving wheels sleepy german nachmin strasse einsteigen bitte rrrrruckkleinbittle eeeeee barbar uber stegrek chubchchch crarrrrrrrrrem buschregbite shhh roars closed rrarr tiptap problem kl mumble mumble do dido di do di hallo tmrwm sa hhahaha handclap shding subway feet foot dance ja scratchy nose hair ?.. hhaha raraKKeinsteigen bitte zuruk klein bitte radio voice bar bar di da saxophone uber gra gra man sshshsh gas release einsteigen bitte zuruck klein bitte spanish guitar do do saxophone train flamenco chatter do for me nagos di quando la quando de de de aoooooh aooh la quando ohoh obo bo announcement danke danke oooshsh zugnach ando ando bitte kleinbitte plastic wrapper pink ba ba uber carrier bag squash zugnach rathaus einsteigen bitte zuruck klein bitte accordian brrrr dodo uber dan ho nein

..

Shhhhhhh Bahn

shshshsh spiders walk haha kuh kuh! weiss boll lips squeek da da! -----einstweig cough cough gas einsteigen bitte foot zuruck klein bitte cough bar bar uber drei newspaper folds hands on carrier
einsteigen bitte
foottap clipclopclipclop huh einsteigen bitte shshsh
crumpled paper zugnach
einsteig zuruck klein dardar
einsteig aa electrical buzz
jingle change darem darem
kuh kuh shtt zip brush hair
dead fly brah brah
ringring

Chin

Under your chin
like an ocean
waves of warm air
roaring through your nose
splash against my cheek
no seaweed
just tangled hair
sleeping on tiptoes
lost in fog
shipwrecked
as crabs crawled across your feet
and salty air
washed them clean

Kop Flop

Caught in a stream
of sweat & scouse men
Past the hot dog stand
the programme stall
& the anyspareticket man
Ever nearer ever nearer
to their Jerusalem

Caught in a rush
we blindly follow
Careful to avoid
horse manure and mush
Our bodies squashed
our toes numb
We're given a friendly push
through the turnstiles

And we pour out
onto those sacred steps
Like tiny crustaceans
on the seabed
All at once
our dreams and fears are lost
Engulfed by the swell
of the great red jellyfish
With scarfs aloft
in the murmur and the din
faces fixed, expressionless
our bodies flop

Pink Cloud

I dripdrop dripdrop
further into
some weird place
where heads are surrounded
by pink cloud
that dripdrop dripdrop
with surreal condensation
taking me further into
that weird place
where my black and white cat
maintains his sanity
and i find myself
freaking out in pink cloud
nothing to hold on to
except my black and white cats'
comparative sanity
and the hope that he can find his way out
before i'm consumed
by pink clouds of doubt

Sketches from Krakow, Poland

Wawel Castle, November 2004

Self Portrait (cold), November 2004

Walking In Castle Grounds, November 2004

Man in Jewish Restaurant, November 2004


Angel in Krakow, November 2004

sketches from Barcelona

Neil Young

In the spanish evening
A lot of people were watching
You fumbled across the stage
Found your place
Not wanting to disappoint
You played the ones we knew
Buzzing around
Like a friendly bee
You seemed old
Like a tree
There you were
In your lumberjack shirt
Chasing honey
Chopping wood
You stopped once to play a song
Then went back to work
People said you were rad
I've seen better wood choppers
But you weren't bad


Girona

Here I slept
Between crumbling bricks, noisy birds and giant bees
In your shade
Standing like a God
Branches tangled with the sky
Feelings unsettle me
As gargoyles find peace


Give Me A Whiskey

Doors swing open
Give me a whiskey
As another Clint Eastwood
Enters the metro

Outside iron bars
To Gaudi's fucked-up Cathedral
Half waffle, half dough
Left too long in the oven

Overdosing on sunlight and apples
So many small, well behaved dogs
Taking their time to decide
Keeping everything so discreet


Turquoise Ambulancia

Turquiose Ambulancia
Sitting like
A Turquiose Duck
Wheels inflated
Eyes flashing

While the onlooker
Feels for crumbs
Furtively fingers
Carrier bags

Eyes wide
Jaws ablaze
Violently munching
Spanish Squirrel

Secretly munching
He keeps it hidden
Incase of pigeons


Placa De Bonet I MUIXI, May 2009



Pigeon in Parc De La Ciutadella, June 2009


Parc De La Ciutadella, June 2009

Bogatell Beach, June 2009

Stuart on Bogatell Beach, June 2009


People in shadows at Parc Guell, June 2009

sketches from Berlin & London

Westgermany club, Berlin, April 2009



Spanish Cafe, London, April 2009