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