Black Widow Rock! and Tips for Exceptional Baker's - 22nd August 2012

Last night Black widow played their first gig and we were terrible!  Charmaigne, always the professional, saved our bacon time and time again.  That said, we had the whole pub singing "Rolling in the Deep" and and our song selection appeared to be popular.

Actually this was an interesting gig.  What we thought would be a Wednesday night open mike affair with a dozen people and a Jack Russell turned out to be a packed pub full of musicians and their friends.  We "headlined";  more accurately we were the only band therefore we went last.  In truth you have to respect the "support" (that included Charmaignes 2 daughters).  The support were incredibly talented.  They sung there own stuff and they weren't afraid to stand up with a guitar and do their thing - for £20.  Massive respect guys I wish I could have got your names...next time.  I wish I had started this shit at 18 and not at 38.  I'm 46 and there are not enough youthful, carefree years left to do the things I would like to do.  Things I could have realistically achieved....  Still, spending my youth permanently pissed, shagging the world, riding bikes, building a career and, at one time, virtually living in Amsterdam did have its appeal I suppose.  I had to have the career to pay for it all!

Even though this was our worst performance for at least 3 month we did get 2 bookings and a regular spot at The Pilot, Bowerhill, Melksham into next year.  What a stroke of luck.  With a regular slot at a pub where people come from Bath and Bristol to play I think we can build a following and that must surely be the next step.  If we can get our standard up to Charmaigne's we will earn good money and more importantly get the better gigs.  The better you are the easier it gets - funny that.

I've been baking bread today.  Bakers are interesting people.  The best of them have their secrets and quite right.  After all they need to protect what they have - good recipe's.  My mother was a professional cook and her food is simply awesome.  My mother told me this: good recipe's are not important because you can write your own with enough trial and error.  How the baker cooks however is something he - or she - cannot conceal.  It's hardwired, it cannot be concealed.  It is either good, bad or exceptional.  A good baker (say) can make a simple plain batter and it will make a decent Yorkshire pud.  My mother, an exceptional cook, can take the same ingredients and make the lightest, crunchiest most perfectly cooked Yorkies that taste so much better.  The moral:  It is not the recipe that matters it is how you cook.  It is the who, not the what that attracts the hungry eye.  I don't care about knowing recipes because, like my mother, I can bake myself. An exceptional Baker is priceless and I can learn from such a cook.  They make everything and anything taste incredible but they are very, very rare people indeed.  They need to be recognised, respected and cherished.

One final thing about exceptional Baker's.  They seldom taste their own amazing food.  They get more pleasure from cooking for others than for themselves.  Exceptional Baker's need another exceptional baker to eat properly.  Good bread takes time to prove and that means it needs to be left alone to emerge ready for cooking and enjoying.  I'm going to do that because I like good bread and I'm prepared to go a long way to get it - Hovis is everywhere.

After all, we are what we eat, aren't we?

Exceptional music for exceptional Baker's, wherever you may be:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jlHz0wF0Ig