News Updates
• January 2010
• Music and Stuff
• Life and Stuff
• Article from Fretboard Journal
• Guitars
• Erich Solomon
• Healdsburg Guitar Festival 2009
• January 2009
• January 2008
• December 2007
• March 2007
• August 2006 - Colne R & B Festival - Bank Holiday Weekend
• July 2006 - Home County Folk Festival, London, Ontario, Canada
• January 2006 - Kolkata, India
• February 2004
• October 2003
• September 2003
• July 2003 - Maryport Blues Festival
• June 2003
• May 2003
• January 2003
It's an age thing. The grumpy old, last of the summer, moaning, groaning thing that we enjoy doing when time goes by so fast and another year gone malarkey. Is it true that you reach 50 odd and every year is only 6 months long and we start asking where's the year gone?
Last year (2009) had a great feeling of improvement and optimism, some due to hard work and music on my part, but mainly due to other people around me. So that’s where I’ll start: with a big thanks to all of those folks who are supporting my music, writing to me, turning up at gigs and buying CDs. Musically and personally things are moving mostly forward, sometimes sideways and occasionally backwards but hopefully with some feeling of direction!
The year has seen an increase in the number of and size of gigs, the highlight being my trip to California and the article to feature in fretboard journal which I will include at the end of this update. I’ve travelled a bit, apart from a cycling holiday in Holland (no guitar), musically there’s been a festival and gigs in Poland, a weeks work and guitar demonstrations in California, spent a bit of time in Besigheim, near Stuttgart and played gigs in most parts of the country. It’s been a lot of fun, with a fair increase on what I did last year, hard work but worth every bit. Some new songs and tunes have evolved too: a reworking of some Sleepy John Estes and Skip James and a couple more self penned pieces get thrown into the mix of music at gigs.
The new CD ‘Have a Taste of This’ has received some excellent reviews and gets air play on radio stations all over the place: I don’t sell many through my web site, iTunes or elsewhere; but people buy them at gigs – perhaps a sign of the times.
There have been articles written in Acoustic Magazine, some by me and some about me, including the CD review which described ‘Have a Taste of This’ as a ‘Gem of an album’* and podcasts and video webcasts including the one here by Dave Raven http://blip.tv/file/2920126. It all helps I guess.
My Evolution bottleneck is now done and available from Diamond Bottlenecks. It comes in a pack with a CD of instrumental music, some guidance on using the slide, a velvet bag and the metal and glass bottleneck itself. –Ian McWee and I are doing this as a joint venture and we are heavily in debt, or back in the rat race…. Exciting times indeed!
2010 will see the DVD recordings start to take place and hopefully at least one instructional video released and something else featuring a very special old guitar.
My partner, Caroline and I have, at last decided to get shacked up. The wheels are in motion as her house has a ‘For Sale’ sign outside and soon as the buyer comes along she will move in here with me and we will start looking for a new home for us both that will accommodate (in order of size required), her shoe store and wardrobe, Grand piano, Cello, trinkets and push bike. Being a bloke, I have just the shed, one sock and 2 pairs of nylon underpants with optional static electricity section and a few guitars, so I take up no space at all. When searching for a new home, I like to concentrate on examining sheds and garages with great care as I know where a substantial amount of my time will be spent.
I’ve generally kept in good health, enjoyed the year and am trying to keep fit. The bike riding helps and Frank, the old mongrel, makes sure I get a minimum of 3 miles a day just to keep him from getting bored.
The internet sees music and musicians all over the place and it’s not my strength to spend yonks messing about texting, twattering, bloggering and facebooking. It bothers me that we spend less time knowing the people around us, our neighbours, acquaintances, people we meet on a face to face basis. I’m lucky to have such a wide range of friends in my life and I try to keep in direct contact with as many as I can: Its fun and one of the things that I left the mainstream workplace for. My new year’s resolution is to remind myself that a screen and keyboard is not any substitute for a person, facial expressions and a brew; although I do recognise the usefulness of this here gadget.
*Julian piper
Article from Fretboard Journal - How Tom met Erich
A truly unique British lap slide player joins the New Hampshire maker of unique guitars at Healdsburg Guitar Festival
The first guitar came from a yard sale when Tom was about 7 years old. His older brother showed him a few chords and before long Tom was playing a riff from the track ‘Money’ straight out of the first Beatles LP. He just seemed to hear it and worked out the notes on his own. The music around him was the folk/blues revival of the 60s mixed alongside The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Woody Guthrie and most types of music that were regularly aired through his father’s LP collection. ‘Dad played a harmonica, but he listened to so much music; I was surrounded by everything from Opera, Classical, Musicals, through to the likes of Cole Porter to Jim Reeves’. At seventeen, Tom was considered an accomplished finger style guitarist amongst his peers.
In 1974, Tom was involved in a traffic accident that caused the permanent spinal injury. This put paid to his guitar playing exploits because Tom has no movement in the fingers of his left hand and a very primitive claw movement in the right, but he recalls playing guitar all the time. ‘In my head of course; not literally, but it was there. I would listen to music as I always had, and start to work out the guitar parts, chord structures or accompaniments in my head. It was just something I did – in silence.’
Sometime around 1990, Tom took a previously redundant guitar off the wall hanger and placed it on his lap. He used a tube on his forefinger which he dangled on the strings. Soon, he adapted picks with twists and turns in them to hit the strings at the correct angle, raised the nut, put weight into the tube and embarked upon, which was for him, a totally new approach to guitar playing. The catalyst for this Eureka moment was hearing a song called ‘Louise’ from an album called ‘Greenhouse’ by Leo Kottke. ‘It’s the first track on the album and as soon as I heard that sound, I knew I had to somehow be able to play again; there was no doubt in my mind’
Thus a journey started; and for several years, Tom went his own sweet way learning all sorts of different tunes from Folk to Blues to Jazz to Pop, but never being quite confident about what he was doing.
In 1999, Tom was reading the brochure for a local guitar festival and noticed a workshop to be provided by a player he’d not heard of: Woody Mann. ‘I went along to the workshop, (which I suppose was my first lesson), asking myself whether I was making music on this damn thing, knowing that I would be in the company of my musical peer group and being the only one who couldn’t move my fingers or fret a guitar in the ordinary sense’.
Like the Leo Kottke track, the outcome of the workshop was life changing and just a few months later, (with some encouragement from Woody); Tom attended one of the International Guitar Seminars at Columbia University in New York. By coincidence, he had also left work and had more time on his hands to play music. ‘IGS was a tremendous learning environment for me, just to be around the professional tutors, other musicians and listen; I soaked up the music, the camaraderie and the teaching, and for the first time I saw someone playing orthodox lap slide guitar. His name was Bob Brozman. He helped me realize three significant things for my playing:-
• ‘There’s no right or wrong way to play lap slide. Although technique is important, technique can be a personal approach. It’s the music that comes out of the instrument that matters most.
• Perhaps partly due to my previous years of frustration and playing music only in my head, I realised that I could compose new music and my approach to the instrument was different from other lap players in that it is based on chord structure and voicing as well as melody lines.
• Along with the instrument I was playing, I was in the infancy of a musical and personal journey of discovery and invention.’
Shortly after returning from his first IGS in 2003, Tom recorded his first CD, ‘The Bell’ and over the next four years he wandered stateside to three more IGS weeks, some travelling and a few gigs. A second album, Running Free was released in 2006 which featured more of Tom’s song writing skills and a few collaborations with other instruments, notably Cello, and African Cora.
By 2008, Tom had released his third album, ‘Have a Taste of This’ and had travelled substantially including spending time in Kolkata, India with Debashish Bhattacharya, the Indian Slide Guitar Master.
Tom’s style and approach have become instantly recognizable and unlike that of any other slide player. Exploiting his song writing and continuing to push boundaries, he has re-invented slide playing to suit his needs, finding voicing and chord structures that are unique to him. Developing tunings for particular tunes and situations is all part of it; from minimalist melody lines to complex jazz chords, ‘Anything can be played on a lap guitar and the restrictions of the instrument only serve to widen my imagination. Labels don’t fit comfortably with me as I only ask to be judged by my music.’
His gigs have taken him throughout the U.K., into Europe including Poland and further afield into Canada and the USA. His three CDs have received critical acclaim and international radio air play.
His original mentor, Woody Mann describes Tom music as ‘coming from that natural place great music comes from - personal expression, honest and right from the heart. The music just flows. He uses his unique set of circumstances as an opportunity to explore the limitless possibilities of making music. The sounds of his musical roots are there as his creative springboard - from lush jazz ballads to bluesy Mississippi Delta grooves to his own interpretations of classic tunes. But with his spontaneous approach, unique playing style and swinging groove, Tom creates something new, something completely his own. His original instrumental and vocal improvisations envelop you with his own excitement of the moment as the music just happens, in the moment, full of surprises. For me, playing music with Tom is a joy, on stage and off. It's always about improvisation, searching, and listening.’
In August of 2009 Tom completed a short tour of California, ending up at the Healdsburg guitar show; which is where Erich Solomon comes into the story.
Tom has kept most of his guitars from his early days, including a mahogany bodied Harmony F166 and a Yamaha FG240 12 String, which Tom converted into his first lap guitar. So, began one of those ‘guitar acquisition illnesses’ and Tom began to amass a collection of serious lap style slide guitars. Over the years the collection has grown somewhat to include his regular workhorses for gigs: (a 1929 National Tricone Squareneck, 2003 Bear Creek Kona and the Solomon); to some of the original models from makers like HiLo, Weissenborn, National, Lyric, Gibson, Martin, Kona, Oahu, Silvertone, Regal and La Foley. Apart from the old Harmony, every guitar Tom owns is a squareneck or Hawaiian model and as such, his interest included an occasional browse through the eBay marketplace.
While Erich Solomon predominantly makes beautiful archtop guitars out of his quaint Epping, New Hampshire workshop, Erich, like Tom, likes to experiment and improvise with sound. Erich has always had a special place in his heart for resophonic and Hawaiian style instruments since being introduced to them by fellow Alaskans, guitar guru Wade Hampton Miller and musician and internationally acclaimed tattoo artist Larry Allen, early in his career. In 2006, he built a pair of ‘Weissenborn’ type lap guitars; one for his brother Nick Petumenos in Anchorage, whose replica Weissenborn was literally falling apart, the result of being made with unseasoned tone woods and constructed in an non-climate controlled environment. Since he had enough wood for two guitars, he made the second alongside of the one being made for his brother, and put it on eBay in the belief that it would find its way to the right player.
So fate would have it, that in autumn of 2006, Tom was perusing said eBay, where he noticed a new and truly unique looking acoustic Hawaiian guitar. Intrigued by both the instrument and the seller, who was the maker of the guitar; Tom, forever the optimist, took a leap of faith in this man and his beautiful guitar and decided to buy it.
It didn’t disappoint and within a week Tom was out gigging with the instrument. ‘My improvised version of Eleanor Rigby, took on a whole new life.’
While Erich appreciates the traditional Weissenborn guitar concept, the original instruments were built for an evolving market at an economical price. It is testament to the design that so many still survive, but with modern ideas in mind, Erich wanted to develop the concept further. He commenced by using his "Phidelity" body shape as a starting point, which uses the golden section or divine proportion of Phi or 1.618:1, to form the core dimensions and proportions of the hollow neck body. Next, he selected Sitka Spruce to use for the top and Honduras Mahogany for the bracing. ‘The bracing pattern is very different from an original Weissenborn, with a much more modern and integrated X-brace that distributes the tension on the top much more evenly and gracefully. The bridge plate is made of very dense African Blackwood rosewood, and is small in size but much thicker and heavier than normal. The back and sides are of Black Walnut, and the long 660mm scale "fretboard" is ebony with brass markers. A very thin and acoustically superior hand rubbed French Polish finish is the final touch.
The result is a uniquely voiced instrument that retains and builds upon the best ideas and functions of Weissenborn's original concept, while sonically, preserves some aspects of the sound, but augments others. It has better volume and a much fuller bass response than the originals. One of the best compliments that Erich ever received was when Ken Parker came over from a neighboring booth at the 2006 Newport Guitar Festival, and strummed it, and with surprise in his eyes, he clutched his chest and said, "Be still my heart!"
After hearing the way Tom played Erich has asked him to endorse the Solomon Lap guitar, and to make a signature model - the Tom Doughty Long Scale Hawaiian.
Healdsburg Guitar Festival 2009
Tom’s final gig in California was to demonstrate Erich’s unique Hawaiian guitar at Healdsburg. Over a fantastic Thai dinner the two became good friends, linked not only by the beautiful construction of a guitar and the music of its player, but by similar approaches to the experiences of life. ‘Playing the Solomon at Healdsburg, with Erich there in the auditorium was a really moving experience.’ Tom added that he felt totally in control on that stage and free to construct some new tunes around old ones, feeling the sound, improvising and just enjoying the process immensely. All made possible by combining the energy of the materials, the builder and the player.
For Erich’s web site clear here: www.solomonguitars.com.
January 2009
It's an age thing. The grumpy old, last of the summer, moaning, groaning thing that we enjoy doing when time goes by so fast and another year gone malarkey. Is it true that you reach 50 odd and every year is only 6 months long and we start asking where's the year gone?
It's Richard, my friend who looks after this web site to thank for this update. He's been reminding me for a while now ‘No news Tommy'? or ‘When are you going to update the news section Tommy'. If you ever want to bother me, call me Tommy; but Richard has special privilege and I don't mind him using it. Plus the motivation of some upbeat Celidh music in the background provided by The Family Mahone playing in the background. Its fun typing off the beat with such speed when it's just a single finger doing all the work!
It's been a good year for me and my music and I guess life in general. I am a lucky sod and that feeling rarely leaves me. Escaping the regular rat race job was a good thing for me and the musician's life, although sometimes solitary, suits me well. I like the communication music provides me. With me and anyone who listens, it's all about the conduit between the player, the music and the listener. That's the experience. No right, no wrong: just the experience.
31 gigs in 12 months are not enough and I need more work and an agent, but I'm optimistic about 2009. I'm off to California in August, to demonstrate my Solomon guitar and do some gigs around LA and I hope to develop more performances are share the fun with other musicians. The instructional DVD is going to happen too and in March 09, I'll be featured in the Acoustic Magazine in a slide guitar article. The new CD is something that I'm proud of, it has an assertive sound and confidence plus I've written most of the tracks too; so it's another step forward. Reviews will soon be out in some magazines, including RocknReel, Blues in Britain and Froots. Despite this, marketing and selling remains my Achilles heel: I'm just a musician.
Highlights on the gig front have been the concert series that I've been running here in Northwich, sharing the stage with some of my favourite musicians a real pleasure; Wheaton Aston Festival and Colne R & B Festival also being really enjoyable. Other highlights were Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio with Caroline; Leonard Cohen in Manchester, singing superbly at 75, (what a night) and meeting Billy Bragg about my CD and his work with prisons.
Long may it continue.
My mugshot is also now on Youtube and Myspace. There are links on the front page of this site or if you missed it: try www.youtube.com/user/slideytunes and www.myspace.com/tomdoughty. The recordings were made at a small gig in Manchester and although they are of questionable quality, (particular highlights being the dog in the audience), they are representative of one of my live gigs.
Just finished a busy year and as often, things like the web site get neglected. Its freezing cold outside and my car is on loan for Christmas shopping following a reindeer incident.
People - The best thing about this web site and the music thing in general, is (a) the music, (b) the people it brings together. This year has seen the return of several old friends from the past who have used the web site and turned up at gigs or made contact again. Thanks to you for making the effort.
The New CD - At last I’m recording again – about half way through my third CD and enjoying the process. I expect to have the recording finished by next spring and completed with artwork and notes by early May. There’s no title yet, but a selection of original songs, tunes and a few covers and arrangements. Some tracks will be including Cello, percussion and wind, depending upon my diet the day before, so listen out for some interesting improvisations. I’m still thinking about a title, so any ideas will be gratefully received. So far, I have ‘flingersmile slide’ but it sounds a bit too clever for my liking!
Live Performances - I’ve had plenty of really good gigs this year, could always do with more, but it’s been a real pleasure to see the start of a following and more recognition for my live performances, both locally and nationally. All gigs are a pleasure but particularly enjoyable were The Store at Dipton, The Pyramid Concerts in Warrington, Buxton Festival, Colne, The Wirral International Guitar Festival, Crawley and the concerts with Woody Mann and Mike Dowling. I really enjoy mixing it on stage with other musicians and the highlights were improvising with the likes of Woody, Mike Dowling and my new friend Adam Palma, the phenomenal polish session player. (See www.myspace.com/adampalmamusic). I’ve also started hosting occasional concerts here in Northwich at the grange school theatre and what a pleasure it is to have an excellent local venue and open the evening for some of my favourite musicians. Well worth the effort. The next two concerts at the grange will be with Jim Crawford in March and Clive Gregson in May. There’s a possibility of some joint touring with Woody in 2008 too, which will of course, be a highlight for me. Other gigs for next year are quiet just now, but March and April are getting busy and there’s a small festival in May, I just need to get on the blower and become a salesman! Keep your eye on the gig guide.
Guitars - There are a few equipment changes – a headset microphone (like a virgin)? And a handy device for quickly turning the machine heads, plus an old 1940s Gibson and a 1950s Selmer Hawaiian thing that looks like a miniature Empire State Building and a pretend resonator (cover plate only) as seen in the Sears Roebuck Catalogue. I also found a mint version of the first proper guitar I had, a Harmony F66 All mahogany OO shaped thing. Bye for now. Till next time.
Well a lot has happened since I last brought my news section up to date, notably some enjoyable gigs, several new guitars (see guitar section), the hiring of a promoter, CD distribution deal, a possible agent and a bit of film music. So basically, its been busy, which is strange because often it feels sporadic or like I'm treading water.
Gigs There's been 11 gigs since August 2006, which averages out at only one every 3 weeks - not enough to shake a stick at, but the next few months are beginning to get busier. However, despite the infrequency, I have really enjoyed playing. Particularly outstanding events have been the Ullapool Guitar festival in October (fantastic festival, definitely a must go for all enthusiasts of acoustic guitar) and the Wirral International Guitar festival in November, where I got to play with my old pal Woody Mann who first introduced me to performing (and IGS) at his workshop, held at the very same festival, in 1999.
Just last week I played at Gloucester at a club called Vonnies, run by a eccentric, eclectic old bugger, Dave Jones. I also got to meet up with my friend Dave Bristow, www.bristowblues.co.uk, who was a trooper in helping me with 3 guitars and all the associated stuff you need for a gig, (thanks Dave.) Dave Bristow is one of the most genuine people you could choose to meet. He will be touring with Mary Flower in the next few months: keep a look out.
The Vonnies gig came to me by recommendations from others and a bit of badgering. It was a great evening and Dave Jones and I got on really well discovering loads of common threads, interests and similar approach to life. Over the course of a brew and a natter, it transpired that we had a few friends in common too. Ben Cove for example who is a wonderful artist and sculpture (check out www.benjamincove.com.) With a few others, Dave has mentioned my name to an agent in London - Toni Weeks, who comes highly recommended, but like most good agents, she's too busy right now but hopes to help in the future.
Guitars I like to remind women that they can never have enough shoes. There's always more in the cupboard than you can wear in a week. I have about 15 guitars, give or take and they all get played more often than you wear your shoe collection. Doesn't sound very convincing does it?
Anyway, the new acquisitions are now in the web site along with their stories and descriptions. They include another Square neck Tri cone (1929) which came from Canada, a 1921 Lyric, 1930's Stromberg Hawaiian, 1940's Regal Faux Guitar, 1920's Kona and a brand spanking new Erich Solomon long scale Hawaiian - which sounds fantastic - no argument! There's a recording of this guitar at www.myspace.com/tomdoughty where I am playing Eleanor Rigby at the Wirral Guitar festival. A few guitars have left the collection for warmer climates too - The pretend Hawaiian guitar made of Plywood, string and bostick has been passed on to an owner who, I know will love it more than I; and with some regret, I sold my Ivan Guernsey Dobro to a friend Bob Thomas who I meet through RMMGA each year in Buxton. These new additions arte now included in the guitar section of this site.
Go For It Proportions! O.K., it sounds a bit like a kids TV show, even more so, when I tell you the man behind Go-For-It promotions is the one and only Golly Gallagher, but its the person, the cost and the job in hand that matters to me. Golly has got the job of promotion my current CD through the media and getting reviews. Radio air play has increased significantly and I have had some great reviews in regional and web based magazines and sites, but nothing big or national yet: watch this space. As part of this has come a Distribution deal with Code 7, based in Buckingham. This means you can buy my CD in HMV, Virgin and Amazon and lots of other music shops too. Orders are NOT flooding out of the doors just yet.
Picture Perfect is a film based in London. Here's where I'm involved. Should the whole project reach fruition, I intend being there in person, playing the piece. Here are some details from the writer, Raina Haig: 'This is how you came to mind: You'll see there's a song idea I have entitled 'Dark River' (the Celtic name Tamaris, I think, modernised to Thames). It marks a key moment of change in the progress of the boat and the story. I would like to express this with a scene, that was inspired by watching Gershwin's Showboat recently, where a black boat hand sings 'Old Man River'. I have an image of you with your slide guitar singing solo on deck. It's night, and at a point where we are lifted into a kind of magic realism in the story. It's probably the most important song, as it carries the spiritual heart of the movie, and as in Showboat, could form the basis for the closing chorus number. You could play yourself, one of the guests, who we hadn't taken too much notice of as yet, till this scene. Someone around who has an ordinary reason to be at the occasion. 'Well, I'll de damned...' This project is still not definite, its in the 'If' stage - but it sounds really interesting to me and like it could be a lot of fun. Well, that's it for now - keep checking my gig guide. I might be in your area sometime. Come along and say hello. Tom.
August 2006 - Colne R & B Festival - Bank Holiday Weekend
Thanks to the crowd in the municipal hall, acoustic stage. Despite copious amounts of ale, you were respectful and quiet until I finished a song – then your appreciation was ginormous. It was a great gig for me, and good to see people returning to see several of my performances. I was asked to play twice this year and managed to only repeat one song, which was requested by Tony, and the gig was a great success. Evenings like that help to remind me of why I do it. Till next year. Tom
July 2006 - Home County Folk Festival, London, Ontario, Canada - Sliding into home
English Slide Guitarist Tom Doughty spent 25 years developing the playing style he introduced to the folk festival by Kathy Rumleski, The London Free Press © 2006
Slide guitarist Tom Doughty chose the Home County Folk Festival to make his Canadian debut. Lucky for London. The musician, from Cheshire, England, impressed the Victoria Park crowd on the last night of the 33rd festival with superlative playing. His unique style on the acoustic lap guitar came after a 1974 motorcycle accident left him a tetraplegic with limited arm movement and little use of his fingers and he needed to adapt. After the accident, Doughty put aside his music for a while, but as you listen to him play, you realize the music is definitely in him. The music constantly running through his head needed to be heard. So the bluesman used adaptations to allow him to play his beloved notes.
Photo by Craig Glover, The London Free Press © 2006
His style, called the TD sig slide, came after much fine-tuning. "It has taken me 25 years to get to where I am. It's a bit like learning a new language. But it's something I need to do." While Doughty's voice is nice to listen to, especially in the numbers Real Emotional Girl and Louisiana, his voice definitely accompanies his playing and not the other way around.
Besides Doughty's blues, the folk festival -- loosely termed folk this year, which is good because it meant there was something for every taste -- included jazz, Celtic, roots, chamber and, yes, folk music last night. Performances included some by former London-area musicians. Delaware native Marianne Girard opened the main stage finale with her lyrically intense songs of human suffering that were memorable. She wanted to play longer, but was stopped after six songs. The Juno-award winning Great Uncles of the Revolution also hoped for a longer set. "It feels like we just started," said double bassist Andrew Downing, a London native, who formed the group in 2001. The Uncles won their Juno in 2004 in the contemporary jazz category, but jazz is only one of many styles they play, which include Gypsy and chamber music. Doughty said it's hard trying to give enough playing time to 30 good acts, all of whom deserve to be there. He said there is so much talent that needs to be heard, each performer can only play a half hour to compensate. "It takes three songs to relax," he said. The good news was that organizers had CDs available of all of the musicians, for those who got a little bite and wanted more.
First-time artistic director Catherine McInnes called the festival a success, based on all of the positive comments she received. "I can't walk two feet without someone saying, 'It's been great.'" With one day of rain, on Saturday, attendance over the three days was down. "We usually say between 100,000 to 150,000 attend each year. We're on the lower side of that," said former chair-person Phyllis Brady. Some vendors noticed business down as well due to the weather. Artist Joanne Currah of Oakville said she needed $1,000 to break even and she wasn't quite there yesterday afternoon. "It is expensive" to be a vendor, she said.
January 2006 - Kolkata India
I'm sitting here in something called a Cyber cafe on side of a street. Well, it's not like any sort of street back home, sort of dusty and cramped. The Cyber café is 3 computer terminals in a small room with no sign of anything relating to ‘Café' but it works, sort of. Like most things in Kolkatta. Also, its 10 rupees an hour for Internet use, about £0.07. I'm here: I'm in a suburb of Kolkatta I guess you'd call it, a residential area: well its where people live, go to school and work. There are no hotels or obvious facilities for travellers.
My flight from Heathrow was easy - nothing broke or fell off and my entire luggage is safe. At Kolkatta I was man handled into an old wheelchair with no footplates and easily got to the baggage handling where my own wheelchair was they're waiting for me. Outside, Obeejite – the bloke who works as a driver/pa for Debashish Bhattachatyra was there to meet me with a home made but posh sign: ‘Mr Tom Doughty, from London, England for Bhattacharyra's Universal School of Music, Kolkatta'. The car journey from the airport opened my eyes to the contrast of poverty and attempted glamour as we passed people selling the most basic things at the side of the road, dressed in a just a cloth and without shoes, to the building of a glamorous looking hotel/living complex town just outside the airport. Mostly, it's squalid and completely overcrowded. The traffic is mad and the roads are full with holes and the air is full of smoke and fumy vehicles that would be condemned back home.
Debashish uses what could be described as a roomy, average house in his area to accommodate his students and musical visitors. His own house, which has his music room, is filled with his family, his parents, sister, brother and brother's family. Debashish is making a success of his music, certainly deserved and is Indian tradition, is looking after his family. He has a beautiful wife Tripti, who looks after all the admin and 2 children Ravi (2) and Subseshi who is 9 and sings and plays lovely music. Anyway, the roomy, average house is like everything here: Inaccessible, 4 steps up from the road. Every building I have seen apart from the shacks at the roadside has steps and I need help getting into and out of every building.
I'm not staying with Debashish and his family; I have an apartment across the neighbourhood. Ten minutes walk away. Once inside my pad, it is on one level, having 2 rooms, a kitchen – which is a big sink, tap. Concrete shelf with camping stove, a bathroom – which is cold shower and a squat toilet with a cistern above. I can't use the toilet. Just by fluke there is a very old but working western toilet in the Music Room of Debashish's house, which with millimetres to spare, I can use. Just lucky, nothing more, although I had tried to make sure Debashish knew what I needed. It became clearer that they had not been able to grasp the concept of a person who can't walk or stand, who uses a wheelchair. Just hope I keep well.
It will work out of course, because Debashish and his family are wonderful people and if I really needed to, I could travel somewhere to find a hotel and then commute into this area each day, but it looks like I'll cope. Luckily, there's another man here, a strong 28 years old, trekker, climber type. Chris from Vancouver, who is here to study slide guitar in the middle of a 3 month travelling adventure to India, Thailand and Cambodia.
The atmosphere in the street is really Smokey especially at dusk onwards. With the vehicles and people lighting fires for everything – cooking in the street, to keep your iron warm, or for burning rubbish. There are cycle rickshaws everywhere, auto rickshaws and loads of mad traffic. Holes in roads, no footpaths and I am the biggest novelty and person of interest to the extremely interested and warm locals.
Of course, I'm having a ball as the cannibal said. I feel safe here, so long as I keep in control, independent and well. This is at least, exciting and a learning experience and I haven't really started on the music yet.
In the streets there are feral dogs and cats. They are just there, mostly ignored by people and on the edge of survival. No one touches them.
The weather is like May in England. I'm selling a Korean mask for charity through Ebay - it is another world. The nightlife is amazing: but just people going about their business. The streets are busy with people talking, eating, buying, selling, repairing, ironing, riding rickshaws everywhere, fumes, horns, cars, trucks, cows, buses, scooters, bikes, more horns! I just get pulled into the general throng and become part of the atmosphere, its great.
I'm itching already – loads of biting mosquitoes and bug things, and I've chickened out of the cold shower. Also only have 1 towel. Might need more than underarm deodorant the way things are going on, but over a three-day period I can wash everything in the sink.
So Music… Musically and family wise its fantastic, what an experience. For 9 days, I can put up with all the other stuff because of the music and the people. It's easy compared to that reward. Something about Indian Classical Music and Ragas: the ragas are musical compositions, laid down by ear and strict passing on through the Hindu faith since 2000bc. Hinduism was the earliest religion and apparently is about lifestyle. With Debashish, his music is his lifestyle and religion and reason for life. The raga can only be played at the correct time of day – there's one for the dawn and onwards throughout the day. They relate to the natural elements: Wind, water, sunrise, trees etc. The morning raga is very slow and beautiful and with each one only certain notes are allowed to be played but the links between them and embellishments are where the player is free to improvise.
Debashish's family are really supportive, his daughter has become my mate and plays and sings of course. She speaks great English and I have become ‘uncle tom' which I really like the sound of. Its Debashish's birthday today (12th Jan, he's 43), so visitors keep coming and kissing his feet and worshiping him. He is a guru for several people. There are braids up for his guru on the picture and we played some Rajas together. He has lots of students visiting & people dropping in. But it's good.
In terms of meals: we eat mostly veg and fish. Local; freshwater fish. Really good tastes and flavours, but most everything is curried. Rice, Potatoes lots of carbs, lentils. Every evening a strange loud wailing noise wakes me, sounds like a mad woman screaming but strangely in tune. A to E.
I'm not moaning, in fact quite, very happy, but being really careful I wouldn't want to become ill here. Everything feels like balancing on a tightrope apart from being with Debashish and/or his family in the music room or some travelling around with him. He hugs me like your best hug, with intensity and care and looks into my eyes with such warmth. I could feel quite overwhelmed by that, but it is genuine and lovely. He is the best slide player I've ever seen or heard. Just amazing, phenomenal.
Its 8pm now and I'm off for some veg & fish with rice mildly curried.
It is so removed here that I could get just a little edgy at not being home and I might get panicky. Environmentally (for me – a wheelchair user etc) this place is on the edge but the challenge and experience is good, and it feels safe. My real world is just such a big step away. Hygiene, water, provisions, nothing is the same here. I forgot, the Hindus don't use toilet paper: there's none anywhere. I was lucky to find a tap by the western toilet so I can wash. On the other hand, I have strength here and great support. Bottom line is I'm being looked after.
13th. No water this morning and a power cut this afternoon. The music makes up for it and I'm learning a lot. Its good. Chris, (the other western music student) and I get on well and he's easy to be around. We study with Debashish separately. In return for Chris lugging me up the steps I did some washing for him yesterday. I refused the undies but accepted the socks which was a mistake I think the knickers couldn't have been worse! Debashish, being a Hindu celebrated the solstice with a vegetarian feast so we were asked to stay with them tonight to eat and give thanks. Tripti is a great cook so we eat well.
16th. I took a cold-water strip wash but I'm still ‘yeller' at the freezing shower. There are no coffee shops and nothing like a postcard or hotel in sight. This district is just living that's all - trading of goods and services for life. Coal sewing, ironing, no alcohol visible, food, tyres, rickshaws sometimes just a man with a hand cart, some based on bikes. Yet a number of people, most, use mobile phones and aspirations. It's fascinating. If you want to, and can afford, it appears that you can get anything: your ironing done, buy dairy milk chocolate and types of fast food Indian style (which is great) all at the roadside. It reminds me of Victorian England with everyone in the streets, narrow small lanes, Smokey, high buildings and family life all around. Like Victorian England, it's smelly and dirty too!
17th. I am a bit cleaner well I was yesterday, but got mucky again since. We found an electric coil and plugged it into the mains then plunged it into a big bucket of water. The water got hot and I didn't get electroplated. So I took a hot water dousing. The solstice was good, we got back to the gaff at 12.30 then up a 7.00 to join Debashish at his home so we could hear him demonstrate the morning ragas. Each Raga can only be played at the appropriate time of the day. I'm definitely not losing weight, eating like a king of India in fact: today was baby goat meat. My first meat since being in Kolkatta, so tender.
We've just taken a cab into Kolkatta city centre; we are 30 minutes drive away. The roads and the driving are just mad. The city is so busy. People thronging and murky attempts at being international. It was going dark, smoggy and smelly, but we went to a park, past a copy of St. Paul's cathedral and some posh theatres. Had a civilised coffee in something like Costa coffee house with horrible bang bang music playing.
This morning I wandered down to the local village, well, more a collection of traders on the side of a busy road. Both my gloves were worn so this bloke mended them by the side of the road. Hand stitched both thumbs whilst repairing shoes and flip-flops. Including a sweet Indian tea at the roadside - very sweet in a small glass, total cost 10p.
My interpretation of Indian music leaves a lot to be desired, but I need 20 years practice! there is so much to learn. Slide playing is 100 times more complex than I have been making it. I really am having a wonderful time, and I am on top of it all. I found some mosquitoes in my bed, they got under the net somehow, but I zapped em with the electric coil thing, like darth Vader.
One mistake was bringing the wrong clothes, as I need covering because of the grime, dust and bugs, but all in all, its fine and straightforward. My next task after I leave here, its 9pm, is to get back to the apartment. Streets of darkness, all the same and about 10 minutes pushing, but its all remarkably flat in this district and not too difficult. Tomorrow we have a normal start, 10ish for breakfast and we'll see what the day brings. Debashish is off to Bangkok for a concert on weds. So I'll not see him before I go home. Chris and I intend doing some sightseeing in the city.
The music, Debashish & the family, the Indian people, culture etc. are great but they don't compensate long term - for the grime, the bites, the basic lack of comfort that I am used to. Also, Kolkatta has 8 million people living in it, most of them striving hard to live. It's too overcrowded and can't economically support its inhabitants appropriately.
I have masses of music to take home, sound recordings from lessons, more in my head and some Indian cds I have brought home. A few notes from Debashish and years of work interpreting it all. A wonderful experience.
June 2003
Following an interview by Ray O’Hare, Tom has an article, which will appear in the June edition of the magazine Blues in Britain and a promise of air play on BBC Radio 2. Both the Paul Jones R & B Show and Mike Harding’s folk programme have been mentioned. On 14th June, Tom will be playing at the acoustic stage of Warrington Blues Festival before the annual trip across the pond to join the blues freaks at IGS, New York on 15th.
May 2003
2nd May 2003 - Looking forward to playing my first house concert (no, not that type of music) in Austria, at the home of my good old mate Leo Stepanik from Innsbruck.
My trip to Innsbruck will be followed by a train journey to Germany where I will hit the street singing in the old blues tradition with the mad Irish Eddie Punch who is English really, but pretends to be Irish and lives in Germany.
January 2003
Following a short tune or two at Manchester Guitar Circle, Tom is invited to play at a concert in September, supporting Craig Ogden who is a classical guitarist of International Performance standard. (see www.craigogden.com). What a contrast: nylon strings, music stands, accuracy and exacting performance verses metal guitar and no idea what the next note might be.