You know, I think a fair bit of that volcanic ash is diffusing down to ground level here in Scotland. I’ve had a dry throat for a couple of days and now I can definitely smell burnt dust in the air. I hope it clears over the coming week as I’ve got some singing to do with Arbelos when we play the Newbattle Abbey College Celtic Festival on Saturday 29th.
Does anyone else smell this volcano or have respiratory problems?
The air tastes like it's been imported from Mars.
Over on the Arbelos site, Noel has been hard at work spring-cleaning. One of the benefits has been the Band Camp plugin which allows visitors to make code for their very
own music plug-ins. I’ve added two in an HTML box over on the sidebar. So now I can listen to Arbelos music whenever I like. Just click on the share links to make your own. 
There will be more news to come of Arbelos as the 2010 touring schedule shapes up.
There’s been a little break in my blogging recently as I’ve been busy honing the new Arbelos sound with our expanding lineup. It’s a wonderful rich, symphonic sound now and we’re looking forward to this year’s gigs – a special treat awaits our audiences.
We’ve also reached back into the past recently as Noel has been meeting with a mellotron, parts of which have been used by legendary musicians such as Cream and King Crimson. You can read Noel’s story here, on the Arbelos web site.
It’s not yet St Andrew’s Day and I’m already snowed under with Christmas tasks. Not that I mind as it is a pleasant thing to work at.
My band Arbelos is performing in Christmas With Arbelos And Friends on 12th December and we are in the midst of rehearsals and publicity work to make sure it is a success. It’s been a lot of fun so far, not least because we have two great new members in the band. Jenny Johnson now plays keyboards for us in true Rick Wakeman style (we need to get her a cloak) and, just this week joining us from Galloway Folk, is Alex Cook. Alex plays a wonderful array of percussion instruments bringing a much-needed rhythmic dimension and a real world-music feel. I’m so excited by it all that I’ve even started repairing my guitar synth. Expect sitars at a gig soon!
The show also features two Dumfries performers that I have shared the Brigend stage with in the past. Cheryl Easton has had a fantastic Homecoming Year with her Burns show Tea With Clarinda and now she is helping us out with a range of classical and modern Christmas music. The whole package will be bound up with the sparkling wit of local thespian (and my next-door neighbour) Ian Rennie who will introduce the music and tell some Christmas tales.
As if that weren’t enough, we are also launching a Christmas song When Snow Falls At Night as a fundraiser for UNICEF and we are providing a Fairtrade stall for refreshments during the show. All great stuff in the full Christmas spirit.
Come along and support us. Tickets are £5 and you can get them from Arbelos or in Dumfries at Barnstorm Records. The venue is the Brigend Theatre, Dumfries, and it starts at 7.30pm on Saturday 12th December.
Now if I can only find time to write our family Christmas letter and start sending cards….