For Japan

2011, Japan

The same day that I had the aforementioned seizure of mine, I woke up the next day to footage on Sky News of one of the worst natural disasters that I have ever seen, an earthquake just off the coast of Japan, that measured over 8 (closer to 9) on the Richter scale, which triggered a catastrophic tsunami, which instantly ended the lives of over 10,000 people, and has left a further 17,000 more missing, now readers, I'm no humanitarian, I'm no preacher, I'm no savior and usually this kind of thing doesn't get to me, but this really has.

The sheer scale of it all has been gargantuan, and facts and figures on paper just will never do it justice. I see entire towns on the news that have been wiped out and been replaced with wreckage of homes and boats, entire neighborhoods reduced to muddy lagoons, I found it genuinely hard to watch some of the pictures from Sky News, CNN & BBC News, as I write this, the damage done to the Fukushima nuclear plant and the death toll expected to hit 25,000, it makes me very, very sad.

There's no more I can say without saying too much, you already know the facts, but Japan, my thoughts are with you, and I wish you all the best, I really, really do

Your friend

Luke Clarke

Feeding The Rhythm.

Hello Readers!

It has been a while, a while by my standards at least, but please let me explain, things have been pretty bad...

As you all know, I suffer with Photosensitive Epilepsy, and the Thursday before last, I suffered what was without a doubt the worst seizure I've ever had, it lasted around an hour, and I caused myself a lot of injuries as I hit my head and limbs off of everything I could find in my bedroom obviously, when I finally regained consciousness I was in such an amount of pain and discomfort, it was truly like nothing I had ever experienced, seen as I had been talking to my friend Rich on MSN at the time, my sister had alerted him, and he helped me get my head back together when I woke up, what a bloke!

It's fair to say, ten days later, I'm only just starting to recover, but it really showed me how much people cared about me, there was so much love through Facebook, MSN, Twitter and Xbox Live, just people dropping me messages, checking how I was, wishing me well, it really was amazing to know I have these kind of people around me, so thank you all very much for your kind support through what was an insanely hard week or so, it is greatly appreciated!

Now, I'm looking straight ahead, band practice tomorrow and I can't wait!

But this week, there have been some strange goings on, mainly in the sense that alot of old faces have come back to say aloha, some I'd rather have not, some I'm glad of, for instance I had a great mosey on down to Tesco with my friend Manpreet who I haven't seen for a while, plus I've been having mammoth Skype conversations with my friend Kate, and I can't exactly say it would be nice of me to name and shame the people I'd rather have kept their distance, so I won't!

Oh yeah! something new for you here, I'm starting work on a new project I've wanted to do for a long time now, a soundtrack, but not for a film, for 1960's Japanese Cult Icon "Johhny Sokko and his Giant Flying Robot" it's a lot of work, and I'm composing a lot of it myself here at home, based around the 1 melody that plays in every episode, so this is a new project that I shall keep you posted on, really excited about it though I tell ya!

Now, this past week, i've been tweeting back and forth to fellow musician and top bloke Nick Latham, otherwise known as YouTube's "BedroomBassist" and I caught a look at his band on YouTube called Big Door Open, now seen as they're based up north, I haven't literally "Seen" them, but I tell you something guys, Big Door Open have got a sound, a hell of a sound that really got me after listening to a couple of songs, They're gonna be putting out an EP soon, so the best places for Big Door Open based news are all the links below, and I'mma put a video of my favorite song, I'm sure they won't mind!

 

Linkage!

Youtube (BedroomBassist)

Facebook(BedroomBassist)

Youtube(BigDoorOpenUK)

Facbook(BigDoorOpen)

I tell you, when you look hard enough, there's a world of awesome bands out there, there's another 2 I'm gonna be featuring on here in the future if they'll let me, but it's more prominent than ever, that music is the language that can bring us all together, that binds us all as songwriters, musicians or just plain ol' listeners, so take a look at BDO and just remember, I sent you!

For now, this is all I have to see, I'll be writing soon though I feel, thanks for stopping by and if you messaged me to wish me well, thank you it meant alot

"Each part does the work of that part, and no other."

Catch you later

Your Pal

Luke Clarke

Public Service Announcement

Fire Up The Keyboard!

We've gone global, hotshots!

Well hello there!

First of all, let me extend my hand for a firm handshake to my readers from across the world, I looked at my stats last night, China, Iran and the Netherlands are racking up a lot of the views, thank you for stopping by and I hope that you've bookmarked me for future reading, that'd be nice, thanks though, I do appreciate every single one of you that come and read what I write, it makes me smile, I know that English may not be your native language and it's nice to think, that it's this page you're reading.

So, for the first time in a long time, I'm writing in the daytime, most of the time I blog at night, or in the early hours in the morning, but after this morning at work I'm sitting here watching Top Gear, and I'm thinking up some ideas for new effects to plonk onto the Boss GT-10, but aye I had some what of an epiphany...

You've seen me write on here about how I was sort of set on the fact that Analog guitar pedals are ultimately superior to digital pedals in every way, thinking that digital pedals always sounded terrible, however, I had only ever owned a Korg AX3000G, which now lies broken under my cupboard, but this Boss GT10 is everything I ever wanted and more and when I run it into my AC30's FX loop, it doesn't sound thin or wimpy or digitized at all, it sounds (I never thought I'd say this) analog.

Big bonus for me is that someone has made a patch for every U2 song and uploaded them, I've got the main sweeping sound from Mysterious Ways, and I've yet to go through the rest, but I've made some of my own personal favorite sounds, so I'm loving how easy it is to use with the software!

There was no band practice last night, but I felt a little rough, so maybe it was for the best, but I ran through the songs, as I have been frantically, because as mentioned in my previous blog, we have a gig soon, and I'll have only had 3 practices with the band so I want to make sure I'm on my game, it's my return to gigging and I want to be on form, really looking forward to what lies ahead for me now I've joined Framed.

I may do some reading today, some more Lovecraft maybe? But then again, I still have a couple of chapters of "Bono on Bono" left, which is a seriously good book, a great insight into a man 99% of people think is an arsehole, it changed what I thought of him, there's some great quotes in there, I picked it up for pretty cheap out of a local book store that was closing down, I recommend it to ya!

But Hey! I've got a few albums to recommend!

Pink Floyd - Animals

Lalo Schifrin - Magnum Force OST

Teddybears STHLM - Rock n Roll Highschool

And if you can get hold of it, my album of the week...

Andy Summers & Robert Fripp - I Advance Masked

I assure you, it's a great example of collaboration work at it's finest, The Police's Andy Summers and King Crimson's Robert Fripp made one of my favorite instrumental albums, that I've only recently managed to get hold of it!

And on that note folks, that's all you're getting

Take care now, see ya soon!

Your Pal

Luke Clarke

What Are You Playing At Dave!

Fingerprints

Aloha Hotshots!

Welcome to my week off blog, I'm at the halfway point and I tell you what, it's been great, lot's of stuff to get through, but I'm glad Dan booked it off for me, it's been nice to take some time off just to relax, kick my feet up and get back to basics, it's been real nice, I'm really chilled out, picture me with sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sandals, drinking from a coconut...

So how are you all? are you there? I'm worried guys, I really am, I'm looking at the stats and I'm seeing my views tumble, c'mon now, I'm not that bad, is it because I haven't showered for a while? Because I have, honestly, a few hours ago!

I hope you're all doing well though, a couple of philosophical blogs down and I think I'm back to normal, lot's of stuff to catch up on, so let's bullet point what's going on...

• NGD - Boss GT-10
• Framed Gig - March 19th, Stein Bar, Walsall
• Dirty Harry Movies
• Bulletstorm & Red Dead Redemption (I reached level 50!)
• My views on my recent Scratch Radio appearances
• Rob's new Blag!

That's alot right? You can't accuse me of not having any content, so let's get down to business! 

  NGD

BOSS GT10

why the heck did you get one of these treading behemoths?

Because, the other night, I was trying to control my Pedalboard and fell over, it was then I decided I needed something more concise...

Ok, I get that, but why not something simple, like a Line 6 or Korg?

I've used Boss pedals for a while, and I know what the GT-10 is capable of, and I have alot of sounds on my pedalboard that I need to transfer over, and this has everything I need

Is it easy to use?

No, no it isn't, it's like cracking a safe using oven gloves, but when you crack it, it's a fantastic tool!

How does it sound?

It takes alot of tweaking, and I run it into my Vox's FX Loop, to bypass the AC30's preamp and use what the GT10 has to offer, and the sounds I'm getting are really groovy, man!

Can you add sounds to it via USB?

Yes, do you have a PhD in Guitar Gear?

Next....

Saturday, March 19th @The Stein Bar in Walsall

This will be my first gig of 2011, my first proper gig in a long time, with Framed, I cannot wait, these guys are the band I've been looking for and I personally cannot wait, so please, come down, show your support! check the band out here

It's a solid type of rock that will get your feet tapping, I know you'll love it, so come on down!

Next...

Earlier this week, I brought the 5 Blu-Ray set of the Dirty Harry movies, none of which I've ever seen, shocking I know, I've only really heard the soundtrack to the 2nd movie "Magnum Force" (iTunes, £5, Steal)

So far I've watched Dirty Harry and Magnum Force, both in pretty good HD, considering the age of the films, they look stunning, and the audio is superb, I was totally taken in by how good these films are, fantastic, is the only word I can think of!

Next...

Bulletstorm & Red Dead Redemption

So, this week a wonderful game called "Bulletstorm" has been taking up my time, I cannot describle how brilliant a game Epic Studios have made here, it's an FPS game, but not as you know it, the idea is to be creative with how you kill, and I like that...is that bad?

Also, I finally reached Level 50 on Red Dead Redemption's Multiplayer mode, I'm now traversing the Wild West, on a Bull, wielding a Buffalo Rifle.

God I feel like a Badass on that game now!

Next...

As you know, I've made a couple of guest appearances on BCU's 'Scratch Radio' with my friends Kay & Maccie, now it was fun, but the second appearance confirmed that it really wasn't for me, as good as the music was, I took alot of flak for voicing my opinion on Dave Grohl, even after the show I recieved messages from strangers, then there was the whole distance thing, a guy who did my nut in, no offense to Kay, Maccie or Rich who do a Fantastic job at Scratch Radio, it's just not for me, however I had a laugh while I was there, so thanks for having me!

Next...

Remember my ol' pal Rob over at "The Indifference Gamer" page? well, he's departed from the gaming blog world, and he's entering my kind of blogging thing that I do, just general life blogging, he's a good writer, I'm sure he'll raise a smile when he writes and he's got a right snazzy layout, I tell you that, it's 1000% less yellow, check it out yo...

So that wraps it all up for now, but I'm about to bring back a feature I haven't used since the MySpace days, only a few of you dedicated guys will remember

Luke's Word

I know alot of people, I call very few of them friends, but all of these people aren't a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of people on this planet, but who in this world still dreams? is there still anyone who hasn't abandoned their hobbies or desires, only to replace them with the routine and mundane? one can only hope there are still dreamers in this world, because I don't want to live in a world with only a hand full of dreamers in a world where people cannot grasp that it is impossible to achieve your aim without some form of suffering.

John Lennon said "Some say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"

Gene Wilder said "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream"

You know what I say? Just keep on, keeping on, keep dreaming, keep your own hopes and your own spirit alive and by golly, try and get something done!

Now that's all you're getting, shine on you crazy diamonds!

Your Pal

Luke Clarke

The little things...

I'd just been dropped off on Brownhills high street, I had underestimated how heavy tonight's rain actually was, in layman's terms, I was half a mile away from home, the rain was getting heavier and I was sad, really sad.

So, I popped in my headphones and took a steady walk back, the volume on low, the rain providing a nice omnipresent hum in the background as I walked onwards, hands in pockets getting wetter by the second, as forementioned, I was sad and to an extent I still am, for many reasons that I fully understand, but never want to revisit, as I walked past closed shops and flickering streetlamps, things kept bugging me and, there's nowhere else I could feel more comfortable putting this, I stopped to sit on the church wall underneath the dry cover of some trees, It's a constant thing with me, friends may have noticed that they can talk to me, and I'll be somewhere else, whereas I'll normally just shake it off and hastily apologize, I'm lost, in a web of memories and unanswered questions, worries and fears, I'll just shake it off, tell a bad joke, yeah, laugh it up Luke, keep hiding...

But how long can I keep hiding? Not much longer I reckon, the thing is folks, I've had a lot of crap to deal with the last few years, I mean sure, it could be a lot worse, you don't have to tell me twice, but as I sat under the cover the churches trees, watching the rain fall, things came back to me, people, memories, things I'd rather forget, things I loved, a girl I loved, just stuff, you know the kind of thing.

Motown music told me that everything will be OK in the end, me being the realist I am, I know that the way things have happened, hasn't done me any good, I looked at my situation, I looked where I'm at, things are getting better, but that doesn't stop me facing the fact that I wish I couldn't remember, I looked at the time, it was getting on, but I really didn't care, I had a door key, I sat on the wall for a while, contemplating more, of what may be to come, and how I could learn from my previous mistakes to make the future much better for myself, how my maverick way of life isn't really helping me at all.

I know I really shouldn't dwell on the past, hell, I'm only 20, but yet I have no bearing of what's to happen, maybe with what's going down with Framed will take me somewhere, but other that, there's nothing for me at the moment.

But I digress, as I sat and the rain fell, I looked out and just thought to myself about what is going for me, about the positives, new band, a week off work, I'm gradually improving as a musician, but again, I still feel rather stateless...

You know what's really weird though? instead of trying to please 9 out of 10 people, instead of helping people out when they need me, being a bit more of an asshole has pointed things in my direction, I've found that it really is true, being nice to everyone gets you nowhere, because for too long I tried to be nice to everyone I knew, and I thought that one day It'd come round and everything'd be swell, and it just went down the shitter, but 2011 has brought alot of good times for me so far, just little things, that turned into bigger things.

With those thoughts, I put my hat back on, and ventured back out into the rain, to the short walk home, as soon as I got home, my feet were up, I poured myself a whiskey and coke and went to bed.

One things for sure, I sat there and looked into that JD & Coke, I cracked a smile, I still loved the little things...