It was a brilliant idea, legendary even, and I was just drunk enough. Matt suggested doing a reunion gig of our old band before we all hit 40 and I enthusiastically agreed, got even more drunk and then slept the sleep of the mighty.

When I woke up the next day I was:

a) Hungover
b) Curious as to where I was
c) Regretting agreeing to the reunion gig

It was around 20 years ago we last played together, I hadn’t played bass for over 10 years, I had forgotten all of the songs and I had forgotten how to play the bloody bass too.

It was time for a montage. Cue the trials, despairs, successes, a couple of weekends getting together to practice, blisters, more blisters, solitary practices and so on and so forth. I don’t know what song would play over the montage but I’m sure it’d be appropriate.

The day arrived with us still slightly unprepared as the last get-together-practice session got cancelled so we winged it in places.

There was a great turn out, a lot more people than I was expecting. Some old faces, friends and even family were there which was great just for seeing them again. Now though I had to proove myself, show them that I can play the bass and do it rather well despite having to pretty much pick things up from scratch.

The first song was an old favourite, one that we could all play without thinking, but whatever nerves had taken hold the result was that by the end of it I was already knackered. Thankfully this faded somewhat and the rest of the gig flew by rather painlessly.

The biggest surprise of the evening for me was all the compliments I got! People were impressed with my playing, genuinely impressed! I’d done it! After all the time, blisters and indeed money spent on getting to this point it was all suddenly very worth it. I’m still on a high from the reactions and words from everyone, properly elated!What’s more I really enjoyed playing in a band again, really enjoyed it.

It was a brilliant idea, legendary even, and I was just drunk enough. Matt suggested playing in Cambridge next year…

The BoxRoom Podcast is still on what we lovingly call Indefinite Hiatus.

What do you think we should do? What would you like to see happen to it and what would you like to be in it?
Am toying with the idea of refreshing it, changing the format maybe? Am currently in the phase of Indefinite Procrastination.

Jen and I like recording it, that’s always good. What with time constraints, other projects and general other misc life things, this podcast has become a casualty. Shall we move on? Shall we bring it back refreshed?

What shall we do with it?

http://boxroomboy.com/pages/boxroom-podcast

Issue 7 of Dark Fiction Magazine, Sacred Fire, is all published for your lucky eyes and ears.

This Issue I was lucky enough to read Who Slays The Gyant, Wounds The Beast by Mark Chadbourn.

Awesomely excellent story, enjoyed getting my teeth into this one. Hope you enjoy.

Friday 15th April, two days before my birthday (And Sean Bean’s I discovered) Jen and I went to the BAFTA place worrying at our peasant clothing surrounded by such poshness to see the first two episodes of Game of Thrones, based on George R R Martin’s frankly bloody excellent Song of Ice and Fire series of books.

If the first 12 minute preview HBO released filled us with shaking excitement recently I reckon you can probably imagine how we felt sitting in front of the big screen with the booming sounds and sights of the finished show itself. Frankly, it’s fucking amazing. Better than we could have hoped.

Very hard to view the show objectively though having read the books and knowing the stories contained within the whole epic so it really comes down to whether this was a good adaptation or not for this review. I don’t need to go into details about how adaptations can fail to reproduce the books they’re based on due to restrictions of time and budget and suchlike so with those restrictions in mind, does Game of Thrones work for the screen? Has it been ruined or changed mightily from the source material? Changed slightly, out of necessity, yes. Ruined? Not in the slightest.

The casting is excellent and the look and feel of it all is outstanding. The full effect of this world, the characters and all the shades of grey their personalities contain is bloody spot on.

Will this be a success? I seriously hope so. I do worry that it will be seen by some as a genre show “swords and mutton” someone called it somewhere (which I quite like actually) and that they won’t give it a chance because of it. Such is the way of things. People unaware of the books coming to it fresh I’d be most interested to hear the opinion of because, as I’ve said, it’s hard for me to view it objectively being a (relatively new) fan to the series who shook with excitement at the title sequence alone before being glued to the action in front of me praying for an early DVD release.

Can I recommend it? Yeah, I don’t need to say really do I. Yes, by the way. Very yes.

A lot of work has gone into this. It feels real, the world looks lived in, the clothes and buildings look worn, the characters arrive fully rounded, the attention to detail is astonishing and I want a Direwolf for my birthday please.

Our tired selves got back from the screening and recorded a BoxRoom Podcast about it all. The local 24 hour shop didn’t stock any mead, alas, so we made do with a good solid red wine to see us through. Have a listen and enjoy our favourable thinkings!

The latest Dark Fiction Magazine - The Waste Land -  is all arrived. Your ears need this.

I am proud to be a part of this issue. Returning to Dark Fiction Magazine is a wondrous honour. Seriously!

In this installment I’m reading Tim Lebbon’s story The God of Rain. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Hope I do it justice too.

Thanks to a heads up from Danny Davies and with gratitude to Jason Warden there was a last minute opportunity to narrate this excellent short story from Josh Wagner for ShadowCast SNM Horrow Magazine. Wonderful to share narrating space with the awesome Kate Sherrod too. Great to put a voice to one of the internet’s lovely people.

Hope you enjoy!

 

ShadowCast Audio Presents:

Featuring

February’s Story of the month “OverExposed“

by Josh Wagner

Narrated by Marty Perrett

&

March’s Story of the Month “Stitches “

by A. J. Madden

Narrated by Kate Sherrod

Music featured on this episode is courtesy of

Daniel José Older

&

The Contrarian

IN AID OF THE RED CROSS JAPAN TSUNAMI APPEAL

100% of proceeds go to the appeal

Written by William Elliott Griffis
Read by Various

Music by Jon Nicholls, SNK Music, AKM Music
Produced & Directed by Neil Gardner 

(c) 2011, A Ladbroke Productions Release

The recent devastation in Japan caused by the earthquake and tsunami has shocked the world. We at Spokenworld Audio, alongside our friends and partners at Ladbroke Productions (Radio) Ltd are unashamed Japon-ophiles…we just love the place, the people and the culture. We have some great friends in Japan, and we felt it was important that we do what we could to help out.

JAPANESE FAIRY WORLD, STORIES FROM THE WONDER-LORE OF JAPAN has been produced by Neil Gardner at Ladbroke Productions in just a few days, with the incredible kind help and talents of many of the UK and US’s finest Voice Over artists. With beautiful music donated by Jon Nicholls and Seb & Kayvan at SNK Music (and additional music from AKM Music). Within you will find 25 short-stories from the rich heritage of Japanese folk-tales. From demons and gods, to the creation of the Earth and the naming of mountains.

Over 3.5 hours of fabulous audiobook readings!

100% of the money raised from the sale of this unique audiobook will be donated by Spokenworld Audio and Ladbroke Productions to the RED CROSS JAPAN TSUNAMI/EARTHQUAKE APPEAL. We will even donate the VAT as well!

We encourage you to purchase the complete audiobook, but if you would prefer to, you can also buy each story individually (a slightly more expensive option!). The complete set comes as a zipped folder containing the 25 stories plus an introduction and end credits…all as high quality stereo 192kbps mp3 files…ready for importing into iTunes or on to an mp3 player of your choice!

Before we get to the list of stories, let us tell you the incredibly generous readers who gave their time, talent (and studios!) to make this project a reality. If you are a producer/director, please take it from us, these people are fantastic and well worth hiring:

RAMON TIKARAM (yes, Ferdie from This Life…ace!)

NATALIE COOPER (who also helped organise the voices…what an angel)

PETER DICKSON (the voice of X-Factor and so much more, buy his app at www.myruddyvoice.com)

PATRICK LUNT (legendary voice over!)

MARIAN KEMMER

CHRISTOPHER KENT

CLAIRE LACEY

MARTY PERRETT 

HELEN QUIGLEY (click here for website)

MARK TAYLOR

KATY MAW

TAFF (he promises us he has a surname, but it is on a ‘need to know’ basis apparently!)

RACHEL ASHLEY

GEORGE WASHINGTON III (click here for website)

FRAN McCLELLEN

JUSTIN BARRETT (click here for website)

JULIE BERRY

PHILIP BANKS

NEIL GARDNER

The cover art was created by Tanja Glittenberg.

Dark Fiction Magazine - Issue 5 - The Ides of March

Well, the Ides of March have come. Ay, they have come, but they are not gone…

The moon is full, the god of war, Mars, is celebrated and Brutus delivered his plot against Caesar on this day. Sounds like our sort of thing. So in true Dark Fiction style we have some more stories for you…

Story: The Honour Guard by Paul Finch (read by Marty Perrett)
Story: The Loving of Ghosts by Simon Bestwick (read by the author)
Story: Lest We Forget by Tracie McBride (read by Alasdair Stuart)

More Dark Fiction wonderment for your ears. In this edition I read Paul Finch’s story The Honour Guard.