Wednesday 15 December 2010

In Between Days - Monday


I drove down to Minehead with Will Sweeney on Sunday morning. We spent the journey bitching about the Graphic Arts. I arrived in time to start work on a large scale drawing and then went to check out a few of the bands playing. The highlight for me was the transcendent Black Metal of Wolves in the Throne Room. Russell told me that it was no longer de rigeur to throw 'horns' at Metal shows; one now makes a 'claw'. My attempt at this was deemed not manly enough –  it's my delicate artistic hands, I suppose.

I've recently realised that watching bands and staying up late 'partying'  is not unlike running or cycling. If you want to be successful you have to train regularly, and I've been out of training in the former disciplines for some time now. I managed to last the pace until 0300 hours when I retired to bed injured, after Russell's son, Caleb, told me how disappointed he was with my artwork.

Monday morning I vented my frustrations on a bike ride. One of the attractions of Minehead for me was its proximity to some epic hill climbs, so I headed along the A39 to Porlock Hill and wasn't disappointed. Exmoor was covered in low cloud, so I couldn't see much, but with a 25% gradient to get over I was focused on that. At the top of Porlock Hill I headed south over the moors and then back along the A396 to Minehead.

I was back in time to see Michael Rother eating Rice Krispies for breakfast. I was surprised – I had figured him for a muesli man – but I guess he has to let his hair down sometimes. I didn't see what Cluster's Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius had, so I couldn't make any generalisations about the nature of the Kosmische breakfast.

Russell and I then gave a talk to introduce Amos to the interested attendees. We then enjoyed a screening of Repo Man.

I managed another short bike ride to check out the hills above Minehead before checking out the bands...

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