Simon By Himself

Time For A Break

2006-08-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Bloggers! I have just returned from the North of England... Manchester to be precise. Casbah Club have been recording with Andy MacPherson at Revolution Studios (where Vibrate was produced). It sounds fantastic so I can't wait to get back to it. I am off for a couple of weeks in the sun with my loved ones and then I'll be straight back in the studio before heading off to the states for the first leg of The Who tour. All go but I'm really happy to be busy. I'm taking advantage of my clear head and energy. So great to be young.

See you soon!!!

My Crap Dance

2006-06-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKYUXIxJYA

The Simonator

2006-06-01T14:07:00.001-07:00

photo by steven myatt

Casbah Club - Sex Change & 20to11 (Live)

2006-05-26T03:21:00.000-07:00

Casbah Club Live Shots

2006-05-24T02:28:00.000-07:00

First four Matt Kent, following two Senti and last three Steven Myatt

NEW CASBAH CLUB WEBSITE

2006-05-16T02:56:00.000-07:00

Come and visit new Casbah Club website;

www.casbahclub.co.uk

A big thankyou to webmaster Kathy Van Tassell for all the effort she has put in making it so clean and streamlined. Our new CD, 'Venustraphobia' is available for pre order now. Plus we are offering free download of new recording, 'Vibrate', live pics, lyrics, stories, biogs, etc. Hope you enjoy!

Casbah Club ....And Then There Were Four

2006-05-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

BIG COUNTRY’S BRUCE WATSON RETURNS TO THE FOLD!

We’re so pleased to welcome back Bruce Watson, who rejoins Casbah Club after a few months of working on other projects, just in time to promote our new album “Venustraphobia” and go on the road supporting The Who. It’s amazing to be together again as a four-piece, and if you want to come and check us out, you’ll find all the latest dates on the Gig List page. We’d love to see you, and blow you away with our new material.

To acknowledge Bruce’s return we’ve done a new photo shoot, as you can see. Look out for more images from this latest shoot, along with some candid shots from our recent recording sessions, all coming shortly.

Our album, “Venustraphobia”, will be available from www.casbahclub.co.uk from 17th June, priced £10.00 so get your orders in now. More about the stories behind the 13 cool tracks on the CD coming soon to this website, so come back and check in again soon.

See you on the road,

Bruce, Simon, Mark and Bruce

P.S. Paul Weller has finally given us sample clearance for the use of 'Start' in our song, 'Any Way She Moves'. Great news! Thanks Paul.

FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD

2006-03-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

Casbah Club are offering a free download of brand new recording, 'VIBRATE':

www.myspace.com/casbahclub

Blogging Off!

2006-02-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

For the past few months I have really enjoyed being a blogger. It is a cool way to meet new people and get close to fans. Over the next year, considering my work schedule, I have for the time being decided to 'blog off'.

Casbah Club are going in to rehearsals this week to work on new material and into the studio in March to record. We will have a new album ready for release in May / June. Also, in the near future, we will be introducing a message board / forum at www.casbahclub.co.uk which I, along with the other band members, can interact. We will also continue to make Limited Edition product available there. Hey, and don't forget to check out my own website from time to time for info regarding my solo albums and acoustic / charity gigs: www.simontownshend.com

A special message to those that have bought a Simon Townshend or Casbah Club CD in the past;

Thanks so, so much for your support. It is you 'special' people that not only enable me but inspire me to continue writing, recording and performing.

Brighton Beach

2006-01-27T16:26:00.000-08:00

South of London, one of our favourite places is Brighton. This was where most of The Who's Quadrophenia was filmed. It was the place to be in the 60's during the Mod movement and again during the revival in the late 70's. Something about this seaside town and the cold, damp British winter weather make this the perfect day out. As you can see, Brewster (the dog) was in his element.... and so was I. Below is a photo of my gorgeous wife, Janie and our
daughter, Hannie sharing a happy moment together.

There is something charming about these shots of the dog and I running along the stones down to the sea front. This was the first time he had ever seen the sea and I really enjoyed the experience of introducing him. You know, it is so great that we have the ability to photograph these moments that are precious to us. Seeing a photograph really helps bring back the whole mood and atmosphere and clarifies in our memory exactly how happy we felt at the time. Thank you Mr Brownie... or Kodak... or whoever you were. Ok - just off to do some research....

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIRSTY GRANT

Raised (2000)

2006-01-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

My old PC recently crashed for the thousandth time and I decided enough was enough. As it happened, I had long since wanted to upgrade my modem to wireless anyway (for the Apple laptop) which meant a few changes. During the long, boring cleansing process I came across a few old 'gems' hidden in the darkest corners of my back up hard-drive, a place I would rarely go as it nearly always meant a restart which on the virus-riden Windows 98 would generally take atleast ten long, tedious minutes.... you get the picture! How it still remains in one piece is beyond me as I am not known for my patience OR anger management. Anyway, deep in the far corner of this dusty old.... etc... I found this video Bob K and I made for the song, 'Raised' and I figured I'd share it with you. It is nothing mind blowing but it is nevertheless home grown and for this reason, priceless. It has shots of my kids messing around, my old home studio and the much loved family Cocker Spaniel, Splodge, intercut with bits of live footage taken at the Grape Street Pub Philadelphia in 2000 with the infamous Andy Kravitz on drums. Andy co-wrote and produced the track. If you can be bothered to do the extremely long, laborious, frustrating... etc... download, I think you may find it interesting.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 'RAISED' CLIP

Bare...?

2006-01-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

You tell me! I named the song after the album title, Bare Bodies Bare Assets - infact written nearly an entire year after the acoustic collection was released in 2000. The front cover shot was of a seedy XXX strip joint in Chicago so I went 'Half Nekkid' to continue the theme - music stripped down to its bare bones... an acoustic guitar and voice! I always wondered whether listeners thought I was singing 'Arses' instead of 'Assets', so when it was recently mistaken for 'Essence' I thought it may be a good compromise. What do you think?

2006 Kicks In!

2006-01-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

I saw this live performance of 'Bare Assets' (aka Bare Essence) from the Basement Jam posted by Alecia. There is something quaint about the poor quality of the film that feels good to me:
http://aleciajensen.com/BLOG/SimonTAX05M.wmv

And sticking with the song, I figured I might aswell upload a very short piece of film I put together for Animal Soup project when I was learning movie editting:
Click here to see Bare Assets strumming

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for visiting and all the support.

Good tidings!

2005-12-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all ye joyful bloggers and bloggettes! May all your prayers and dreams be answered. I am personally feeling a bit psyched right now as I have just read that it is highly likely that Casbah Club will be supporting The Who on the 2006 tour: http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/diary/display.cfm?id=227&zone=diary.

Also, there has been a cool addition to our recent online attack:
http://www.independentartistscompany.com/artist.aspx?ID=26519 Currently the number one spot is held by Rachel Fuller and Pete Townshend, which is awesome.... Let's see if we can squeeze Casbah in there somewhere - top 100 will do nicely.

I'll be checking in and updating over the festive period because I'm utterly boring and undrunk. So, if you're sober, bored and need some interaction leave me a message and I'll get back to yer! Love to you all. ST

Cafe Press Online Merchandise

2005-12-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

For those looking for something other than large stock black T-Shirts:

http://www.cafepress.com/casbahclub

Thanks Bob!

Vibrate!

2005-12-15T16:03:00.000-08:00

Next time I wake up
Things will be different
Things will have changed
Next time I go to bed
Will be the last time I'd have said
Won't feel like this again

Next time I wake up
Time would have run its course
Lives would be won and lost
Next time, if there is one
Will be a moment I embrace
Won't let it run away no more

Oh Lord, I will vibrate! I will vibrate!

Live for the moment, take in the moment before its gone
Stay with the moment, stay with the moment all night long

May have been a stupid boy
Wasted opportunities
All part of being young
But next time when I wake up
I will grab a piece of it
Bring my spirit home

When I meet my maker
And he asks what is it I've done
I'll lift my head and say
For once I gave it everything
Didn't hold back anything
Gave myself away

Oh Lord, I will vibrate! I will vibrate!

Live for the moment, take in the moment before its gone
Stay with the moment, stay with the moment all night long

Why deny the being, physical or fake
Try to fight the feeling, it's difficult to take
I won't let go 'cause its in my soul
And like rock n' roll it's gonna shake this place

Live for the moment, take in the moment before its gone
Stay with the moment, stay with the moment all night long

I will vibrate!

(DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF STUART ADAMSON)

Foxton / Brzezicki / Townshend

2005-12-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

This CD/EP is on sale now at the Casbah Club website: http://www.casbahclub.co.uk
A wonderful limited edition, taste of things to come. I noticed a signed copy at ebay for 16 quid and rising, get it direct from the band site for half that price or with a T-Shirt.... Either way it's a bargain, the best you'll ever have!

Get Well Soon

2005-12-09T02:46:00.000-08:00

QUO Tour cancelled
Statement from the support band THE CASBAH CLUB

We were totally shocked when Rick came into our dressing room last night to tell us the news. Rick, Francis, John, Andrew, Matt and all the crew from Quo made us feel so welcome, like family. It was an honour to perform with them.
We wish Rick a speedy recovery and send our love to Patti and family from Simon, Bruce, Mark and our families.

Sheffield & Nottingham Shows... and more!

2005-12-03T04:19:00.000-08:00

First 2 shows were fab! Sheffield Arena was a huge shock and a major step up from the tiny rehearsal room we were in the few days before and the clubs we played earlier in the year - took a while for the ears to adjust to the sound but we got there in the end. We were really well received and I felt the songs reached the people even though we were a little frantic at times. Nottingham gig was in a theatre with a much better sound on stage and we played a more controlled and tight set because of it. Day 3 - off to Cheltenham then the cybercast tomorrow (look to my website for details), Cardiff Monday and Liverpool Tuesday.... then I can rest the voice for 24 hours.

My last posting was not aimed at any particular individual/s. I can understand why certain people are taking offence and for that I'm so sorry but there has been a misunderstanding here, I wrote the piece through frustration from things in general. One point is simply that for an artist, music should come first but in the music business it rarely does. My second point that fans should understand that we are all human and can make mistakes like everybody else. I'm sorry if I have left anybody personally hurt by situations that were BEYOND MY CONTROL, nothing I have done was meant to cause anguish or harm.

CASBAH OFF ON TOUR

2005-11-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

All ready for the road. First stop BBC Radio Sheffield 2.30pm tomorrow, then on to soundcheck, then...

"Waking up in the battle zone..."!

This is what being in a band is all about. Not all the bullshit that I've had in my life these last few months dealing with lawyers and bitter colleagues. It's time to go out and do what I enjoy doing and put the problems of the past behind me. Play live to thousands of people, reaching out to touch them with music. That's all! Everything else can simply f--- off!

Animal Soup 'live' at the Astoria, London

2005-11-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

There is a very cool addition to my website's music page; a recording of a gig I did with my band Animal Soup a few years ago. The whole performance has been uploaded with a full colour cover and made entirely available for free download. If you're interested, visit:

http://www.simontownshend.com/listen.html

Suits You Sir!

2005-11-16T15:16:00.000-08:00

Here I am sporting the new Casbah Club merchandise. These will be available to buy after shows and online at our website from next week onwards. Sorry folks but the hat is not for sale!

www.casbahclub.co.uk

2005-11-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

I have just got back from the studio. Been a long time since I've worked this late.... feels really good. Here is the link to the new Casbah Club website, when you get there you may recognise the picture (I'm the one in the middle): http://www.casbahclub.co.uk

Casbah Club Promo Shot

2005-11-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

It's late here. I know I have neglected my blog.... Sorry, been a busy boy. Also, worse still, it's 2.15am here and I have to be up pretty early - well, I won't be pretty but I have to be up early. Hopefully I'll be able to make some time tomorrow to blog around, meet a few interesting people, leave a few cryptic messages here and there. Until then here's a promo shot of Casbah Club taken by my wife Janie. That's me in the middle. Bye for now.

www.simontownshend.com

2005-11-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

Hi folks! I'm back! After 1 year, 10 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 17 minutes and 22 seconds at last my official website is back. I have some very special people to thank for this; Bob Kowalski, Bill Bedzyk and Kathy Van Tassell. These three I will hold personally responsible for all the added work coming my way updating the site and answering the thousands (possibly millions) of emails that I'm going to have to sift laboriously through over the next few years. But seriously, they have done this for me through the love of my music and nothing else. They are investing their own time and money getting me back in the public domain because they are genuine friends and fans. For that I am truly grateful. Here is the link: http://www.simontownshend.com

Also, I would like to wish my mother a very happy 82nd birthday! We are going out for an early evening celebration, perhaps afterwards I'll take her with me to tonights 'In The Attic', see if we can get her singing. If not I'll sing a song for her. Bye for now!

In pyjamas

2005-10-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Just arrived home from yet another episode of In The Attic. Such an innovative way to use WhoTV and this was the wierdest one yet. Broadcast at midnight for the folks across the pond we all wore pyjamas, except Pete dressed to kill all in black and Rachel who looked wonderful in her nightie. I should have printed a target on mine to personalise them but I must say thanks to Rachel for supplying what was requested.... purple jim-jams! Had a good time though I was a bit sleepy, sang a couple of songs of my own and listened to other cool music by Sam and Giles, Mikey and ofcourse Rachel. Also my nephew Joseph played guitar which really knocked me out - would have loved to hear him sing though (maybe next time).

Casbah support Quo!

2005-10-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

Casbah Club have confirmed the support slot on the December leg of the Status Quo UK tour. If you would like to take a look at the gig list, here is a link: http://www.statusquo.co.uk/uktour05.htm

Rocktastic mate! AND... there are even bigger and better things on the horizon for next year - no disrespect to Quo, they are fantastic but my all time dream may be coming true... Watch this space!!

Art For Art's Sake

2005-10-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

I love this Adobe art program! Already spending far too long messing around with ideas. This one was knocked up by a good friend of mine who has nothing better to do with his time either - actually he probably has but I just continually hassle him until he delivers. As usual he has done the business. I think this is right on target!

Casbah Clubbin'

2005-10-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a cool shot of yours truly 'Casbah Clubbin' at the Bulldog Bash, Aug 2005.

photo by Kirsty Grant

CASBAH CLUB - LIVE

2005-10-20T00:50:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE 'THE CASBAH CLUB' LIVE AT THE OXFORD ZODIAC, MAY 2005

Photo by Cat Stevens

Tonight's In The Attic

2005-10-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

A slightly different vibe tonight on WhoTV with Rachel and Mikey. I played a gentle ballad about a girl I fell in love with in London while I was living in New York, called 'Girl in New York'. I think it's one of my best songs. I played 'Ecstasy Heaven' too which is about partying with friends, written around the time Zak Starkey and I spent days and nights and more days and nights at The Blues Tavern in Farnham, England. Good but hazy memories, probably best forgotton. I'm proud of the song though, again a slowish ballad. I hope people enjoyed my performance as much as when I play more upbeat stuff. It was great to hear Pete play tonight though when I watched the replay back I thought I looked a bit wierd clapping along in the background to 'I'm One' - felt very cool at the time. Perhaps I'm being paranoid?? Naked in the attic with no guitar! Rachel and Mikey both did a great job as usual. Loadsafun!

Bedford Gig

2005-10-19T01:11:00.000-07:00

Just got back home after a wonderful night out playing music - live, rock n' roll music! I so enjoyed myself, lost a shoe it was that much fun. Have to say a big thanks to Rachel Fuller and Mikey for asking me to play a few songs - the audience were incredible. Feel like I reached out and touched a few tonight - gives me a warm feeling thinking about it. Also have to say what an honour it was to share the stage at the end with Pete, my wonderfully talented older brother and the amazing Foy Vance.... If you haven't heard this guy I would go 1000 miles out of your way to see him. So great to be involved in the show.

Anyone else make it along?

On the Music Front

2005-10-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

I will be playing a few songs at The Bedford in Balham tomorrow with Rachel Fuller and her band, Mikey and Foy Vance. Big bruv is playing too but only one song - that's a clue. We had a rehearsal today and everything worked. Good vibe!

This picture of Casbah Club was taken by Kirsty Grant.

Status Quo UK Tour support

2005-10-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

My band, The Casbah Club have been offered the support slot on the Status Quo, December UK tour. There are some really good shows; Birmingham NEC and Wembley Arena size venues. The money isn't great and it would mean spending 16 nights on a tour bus but I really want to do the work.... Just wish everyone in the band felt the same way.

In The Attic with Rachel, Mikey and Pete

2005-10-12T01:25:00.000-07:00

Had a great time in the attic today with Rachel Fuller, Mikey and Pete Townshend! Was a lot of fun chatting and so amazing to play songs and see instant feedback online. The interaction is awesome! What an incredible platform for lesser known artists and with Pete overseeing it all. This is a wonderful opportunity we are being gifted.

Rachel and Mikey are not only very talented singer / songwriters they are totally natural presenters too - this really impressed me about them both. I do hope I am asked back again soon, I'm sure life will seem rather dull otherwise.