I never intended to be a full time musician, it just sort of happened. I was lucky to be able to earn just enough without having to advertise my self as a session trumpet player, or put my studio out for hire.
As I got older I felt I needed to earn some money. So I got a “proper job”. I went to work teaching in a college.
I teach music technology – studio skills and the latest computer music software. Skills I have picked up from years of running my own home recording studio and working with engineers and producers in big commercial studios.
I initially started training in 1995 when I went on a music workshops skills course run by Community Music (CM), which was originally set up by the free jazz drummer John Stevens.
The workshops were based on John’s excellent manual Search and Reflect. Many different London musicians went through that training and I was lucky to be there at the same time as, and forged friendships with, groups like Asian Dub Foundation and members of the chart topping Mike Flowers Pops.
By 2002 I was working part time in a London further education college and teacher training at the Institute of education. Whilst there I did a study based around an excellent book by Lucy Green “How Popular Musicians Learn” (A way forward for Music Education)
Spaceheads were becoming more collaborative and released an album with the sound sculptor Max Eastley. We played festivals with him and a live concert was recorded for BBC Radio 3. After a tour of the USA in 2003 Richard became a father which meant the period of constant touring was coming to an end.
David Thomas and two pale boys were branching out and performed Mirror Man, a “music cum theater cum storytelling” piece, at the Queen Elizabeth hall in London and at UCLA in USA. One member of the ten piece “Pale Orchestra” in the LA show was Frank Black from the Pixies, who went on to work with me and Keith (two pale boys), on an album of songs made famous by the Pixies
David Thomas and two pale boys were also asked to take part in the west end production of “Shockheaded Peter”. We replaced “the tiger lillies” who wrote the score for the musical, but had got tired of doing it. We did our own versions of the songs on stage in the West end Albery theatre. 8 shows a week for 13 weeks! An intense but great experience.
I took various Music workshops around the country. One of the most interesting was on the Yorkshire Moors with sound artist Max Eastley for an amazing project involving school kids.
Me and Max would help the kids make simple noise making devices and take them out onto the moors with hand held recorders. We would also set up some of Max’s sculptures and the kids would record the lot along with natural sounds.
The recordings were then edited in the classroom and woven around stories that they made up……..
