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Posterous theme by Cory Watilo edited by Steve Pretty

 

Autumn HCB gigs 2011

I had a busy autumn of music gigs alongside the comedy bits and bobs that I was up to.

HCB were especially busy, with headline gigs at Scala (twice!), Queen of Hoxton and Dogstar alongside quite a few private and corporate gigs including a 2 different beer companies. They know us too well...

I was also quite busy with the Bollywood Brass Band, including a brief India tour, and a few extra bits and bobs like working with Darren Hayman and playing with the Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra at the Union Chapel in Islington. The autumn also saw the River City Stompers launched on an unsuspecting world, and I tootled for Dance Marathon at the Barbican.

Look, here I am dressed as a skellington playing with HCB at Scala for Halloween, amongst other things.

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Autumn gigs with Darren Hayman

This autumn I've been doing a lovely series of gigs with ace singer-songwriter and ex-Hefner frontman Darren Hayman to launch his album The Ship's Piano and the single I Taught You How to Dance both of which feature me on trumpet pretty extensively.

Look, here's a bittersweet video that goes with it.

We did a couple of great intimate piano-and-trumpet shows at The Albany in Great Portland Street in October; as it happened I also had another gig there that week, doing silly comedy and musical things for The Forgery Club, which was a nice way to say goodbye to a superb little venue that has now sadly been turned into a posh restaurant.

I also guested with Darren's full band the Secondary Modern at Fortuna Pop's knees-up at Scala, which was a considerably more raucous gig, and no less fun for it.

We then did a Brighton show in the Unitarian Church on 13th November which had a perfect acoustic to play that material in. I've said it before, but I really like working with Darren; I think we really hit it off both on and off stage, and he really trusts his collaborators. Plus he has a lego model of his dog in his house, which is possibly the greatest thing ever. Look, he's even got him and his wife in the head driving it. Wow.