My exciting new project 'Mad Martins' is now available to pre-order from the official Mad Martins Bandcamp Page...

...as well as from the official Gary Miller Bandcamp Page...

'Mad Martins' depicts the extraordinary lives and times of the notorious Martin brothers, William, Jonathan and John, who were born in the late Eighteenth Century in the South Tyne area of Northumberland...

William Martin (1772-1851) was born at The Towhouse, one of a group of old greystone cottages standing on a plateau half a mile west of Bardon Mill, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, during a night of violent thunder and lightning on June 21st 1772. A philosopher, doggerel poet, pamphleteer, engraver and inventor; he aspired to be 'Renaissance Man' and aimed for the 'defeat of learned humbugs':

"Cheer up, you Northumberland and British Bards that can use the pen
And show your divine wisdom for the good of all men…
Cheer up, you Britons, your champion has the battle won,
All the world cannot penetrate the celestial armour he has him upon."

His many inventions included a Life Preserver, a Mechanical Horse, and a Flying Machine. Some of his discoveries and ideas came to him, like his brother Jonathan, in 'dreams and visions of the night'.

Jonathan Martin (1782-1838) from High Side, near Hexham, has gone down in history as 'the notorious incendiary' of York Minster. Six years in the Navy (both the Royal and the Merchant) when he was present at the Battle of Copenhagen, gave him a love of roving “which prevented him from settling down to regular employment”. A passionate religious fervour led him to indulge in frequent fits of rage against the clergy, coming to a head with his plot to assassinate the Bishop of Oxford and resulting in his committal as a lunatic at West Auckland and Gateshead Asylums, during which time his first wife died. Eventually released, after two escapes, he travelled to York where he issued dark warnings to the 'Clargy', accusing them of going to plays and balls, playing at cards, and drinking wine.

In Martin's own words: "Hear the word of the Lord Oh you blind Hipacrits, you Saarpents and Vipears of Hell, you wine Bibears and Beffe Yeaters, whose eyes stand out with Fatness… Oh repent for the Sourd of Justic's is at hand. J.M. our sincerest Friend.”

In the early morning of 2nd February 1829, he set fire to the Minster and was later confined in the Royal Bethlem Hospital (Bedlam) where he died in the same year that his son Richard committed suicide.

John Martin (1789-1854) was born July 19th 1789 in a one-roomed farm cottage at East Landends, Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, thirteenth and youngest child of Fenwick and Isabella. Although the family was living in poverty, John became the first Martin to attend school. The progressive Haydon Bridge Grammar school provided him with free schooling, and his parents with a cheap form of childcare. He showed an early talent for drawing, utilising the schoolroom walls, the doors of the villagers, and the sandbanks of the River Tyne. An apprenticeship as a heraldic painter with a High Friar Street coach builder in Newcastle was his first taste of work before he headed for London, marrying there at the age of 19 before having a picture accepted at the Royal Academy and later becoming "Historical Landscape Painter to the Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold", as well as a noted book illustrator. Like his elder brother William, John was an 'all-rounder', devising sewage schemes for London and the Thames and proposals for railway systems, a lighthouse, floating harbour, and an 'Elastic Iron Ship'. He is most famous, however, as a New Romantic painter and mezzotint engraver, celebrated for his epic and melodramatic scenes of cataclysmic Biblical events crowded with tiny figures placed in vast architectural settings.

He paid Jonathan's legal expenses after the Minster fire and took Jonathan's son Richard into his family. He lived at Lindsey House in Chelsea where William died after spending the last few months of his life there.

John Martin died on the Isle of Man on February 17th, 1854.

'Mad Martins' is available as 50-track triple CD in deluxe book format, with free immediate full download, or in digital download format only.

Pre-order 'Mad Martins' here.

I am pleased to announce and present a video presentation for my long-awaited major project 'Mad Martins'.

This project has been a long-time in the making and has been a real 'labour of love'. At long last the project is on the cusp of reaching fruition, so please check out the video presentation for an overview of what the project is all about. Pre-order details for the triple-CD and accompanying book are to follow soon, along with lots of other 'Mad Martins' news and relevent details/upates...

'Mad Martins' depicts the extraordinary lives and times of the notorious Martin brothers, William, Jonathan and John, who were born in the late Eighteenth Century in the South Tyne area of Northumberland.

Eldest brother, William was the self-styled ‘Natural Philosopher and Philosophical Conqueror of All Nations’, a doggerel poet, pamphleteer, engraver and inventor. Like his younger brothers, he aspired to be ‘Renaissance Man’ and aimed for the ‘defeat of learned humbugs’.

Jonathan Martin has gone down in history as ‘the notorious incendiary’ of York Minster. Frequent fits of rage against the clergy, including a plot to assassinate the Bishop of Oxford led to his committal to several lunatic asylums, from which he escaped twice before setting fire to York Minster in 1829, for which he was again committed to bedlam, where he later died.

Youngest brother, John, the eminent painter, engraver, town-planner and host, was, like his brother William, an 'all-rounder', devising sewage schemes for London, along with a number of other inventions but is most famous for his epic New Romantic paintings of Biblical scenes. One of these, 'Pandemonium', based on Milton's 'End Of The World', sold in 2003 for a record £1.65 million.

The story of the Martins is brought epically to life through a a two-and-half-hour performance in three separate acts, featuring an eclectic mix of wide-ranging and genre-busting songs, poems and narrative vignettes delivered with passion and commitment in a unique style.

'Mad Martins' has been a long time in the making but now, after many stops and starts and ups and downs along the way, the time finally seems right to release it on the world…

'Mad Martins' is to be released by Whippet Records as an epic 50-track triple CD presented as a lavishly packaged deluxe book containing lyrics to all the songs, poems and spoken word pieces, with additional inter-linking text and many beautiful images, including paintings, engravings, sketches and illustrations, further enhancing the story.

'Mad Martins' is also planned to be performed as a live show, combining songs, music, poetry and theatre, and featuring specially-made period costumes, props, accompanied by a pit orchestra of eclectic musicians, amid a backdrop of stunning images, all of which will contribute towards bringing the whole story to life.

Beforehand, however, I managed a sneaky pint or two in 'The Botanist'...

As part of my contribution to the proceedings at 'The Redhouse', I gave a unique 'one-off' performance of the traditional Scottish folk song 'MacPherson's Lament' (a.k.a. 'MacPherson's Rant'), a version of the lyrics of which have been attributed to Robert Burns. The song tells the true story of the hanging of James ('Jamie') MacPherson, a Scottish outlaw. I specifically chose this song in honour of my good friend Heather Wood (née MacPherson), who was there on the night and is a living descendant of Jamie MacPherson.

Here is a partial clip (unfortunately the footage is incomplete and misses the end of the song but at least it preserves a small flavour of the night's event): -

And a great night was had by all!...

At the Redhouse on Burns Night
Left-to-right: - Gary Miller (me!), Keith Armstrong, Michael Stephenson (The Whisky Priests bass player).

Here are some links, through various platforms, to The Whisky Priests download catalogue: -

The Whisky Priests on Amazon

The Whisky Priests on CD Baby

The Whisky Priests on Spotify

The new T-Shirt is available to buy direct from The Whisky Priests Bandcamp Merchandise Page.

The 'Out On The Town All Night With The Ranting Lads' T-shirt is available as a white print on black shirt, in a variety of sizes, and in a choice of Men's/Unisex ...

... or Women's style ...

To order the Men's/Unisex version, click here.

To order the Women's version, click here.

In the meantime, check out the following photos, each featuring a recent reunion between ex-band members...

Glenn Miller, Michael Stephenson, Gary Miller

Paul Carless, Mick Tyas

Gary Miller, Mick Tyas

Michael Stephenson, Michael 'Sticks' Stoker, Gary Miller

Mick Tyas, Gary Miller Pete French

Michael Stephenson, Michael 'Sticks' Stoker, Gary Miller

Nick Thompson, Mick Tyas, Glenn Miller, Michael 'Sticks' Stoker, Gary Miller, Michael Stephenson, Kevin Wilson

This channel has been established to be the definitive online repository for all archival and future video footage of the band. Selections from the archives will be uploaded on a regular basis and any future footage featuring the band will be uploaded as and when it is available. So, please take the time to 'Watch', 'Like' and 'Comment' on each video,'; Subscribe' to the Channel; and 'Share' to your online social network - "Thank you!" and enjoy...

The following clips are currently available (listed in chronological order - watch this space for further additions): - 

Here I am outside Dial Cottage with the project's originators Pete Dixon and Dr. Keith Armstrong: -

I performed my song 'Hands And Mind', which was sepcially commissioned for the project, which I was honoured and delighted to be a part of...

HANDS AND MIND

The sun sent out its silent rays

To pierce the West Moor gloom

Where tireless hands worked round the clock

In a single lonely room

A mind sparked and a mighty shadow

Touched the Great Lime Road

To stretch along the eternal path

On which history’s dreamers strode

Spinning cogs and whirring gears

Turned that wondrous mind

To speed-filled dreams where water steams

Through the mighty hands of time

Those hands were soon put to the task

Of burying a wife and child

But if the cottage lacked a woman’s touch

That mind was not beguiled

With the pain of loss weighing heavy

The hands toiled harder still

The one-roomed house became a four-roomed home

While the mind refused to still

Spinning cogs and whirring gears

Turned that wondrous mind

To speed-filled dreams where water steams

Through the splintering cracks of time 

He took his son’s hands in his own

To birth a new sundial

On a block of wood the gnomon stood

Beneath a sun’s bright smile

Over a plaque to remind the world

From the cottage’s stone wall

What those hands and mind achieved and gave

For the benefit of all

Spinning cogs and whirring gears

Turned that wondrous mind

To speed-filled dreams where water steams

Through the drifting sands of time

Ambitious goals stirred and reeled

And spurred that glorious mind

To steam-fuelled schemes where invention streams

Throughout all space and time

(Gary Miller)

All the project performers/contributors, including myself (standing in the middle of the group directly beneath the Sundial) outside Dial Cottage immediately after the event: -

For further information about this worthy project, you could do worse than check out the wonderful Rachel Cochrane's amazing blog here

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2017 20:41:21 +0000 http://garymillersongs.com/news.php?d=60 http://garymillersongs.com/news.php?d=59 Now available as a FREE download from my Bandcamp Page - the complete 38:30-minute recording of my live interview and session (including 2 songs live + 1 preview track from 'Mad Martins') on Freies Radio Wüste Welle 96.6, Tübingen, on 15th May 2015.

To download, just click the BUY NOW button and then enter zero in the payment box (or, if you wish to make a small contribution, name your price.).

Keith has been unstintingly and unselfishly organising official exchange trips to and from Tübingen, on a twice-annual basis for about the last 3 decades, as part of Tübingen's twinning with Durham City, in the North East of England, and I have made a number of trips with Keith to Tübingen over the years, as well as taking part in several exchange events in Durham, all as part of the twinning process.

As with previous trips to Tübingen, I was ensconced in the apartment at Langergaße 18 for the duration of my stay...

My trip included a performance at Club Voltaire, as part of the town's annual Literary Festival. My set list was specifically tailored to represent the history and culture of Durham, and therefore included such songs as 'This Village' (inspired by Sherburn Village, where I grew up, 3 miles/5 kms east of Durham City), 'The Durham Light Infantry' (a tribute to the working class men, who made up the fighting force of this famous Durham regiment), 'The Colliery' (a tribute to Durham's coalmining industry), 'Easington' (about a Durham 'pit village', which had one of the region's last remaining working collieries, until it finally closed in the 1980's), Keith Armstrong's wonderfully personal lyric 'My Father Worked On Ships' (which I had set to music, as a song, for The Whisky Priests 1995 album 'Bleeding Sketches') and the great Tommy Armstrong's (Durham's "Pitman Poet", who lived 100 years ago) magnificent 'The Durham Lockout'...

Whilst in Tübingen I was also interviewed live on air, and performed a couple of songs, at the town's local radio station Freies Radio Wüste Welle. You can lsiten to the full interview and songs and download it for FREE from my Bandcamp Page here..

I attempted to capture some of my thoughts and experiences during the trip through the following piece of 'poetry'...

Tübingen Refrain

Taking a lonely flight to Stuttgart
To fly the flag all on my own
Without my poetic twin
My true noetic kin
Yet feeling your earthbound spirit, Keith
Full of northern soul
Soaring through the clouds with me
So I would not be alone

Eating obligatory asparagus
Courtesy of Christoph
While my mind recalled vague poems
With the punctuation missed off
First-time views from castle walls
Lizards dancing on hot stones
I was feeling the foundations
Of this country’s solid bones

Trudging miles in the pissing rain
Guitar in hand, bold thoughts in head
Along the route of the Steinlachallee
Where the river winds a tuneful thread
To Freies Radio Wüste Welle
Ninety-six point six
On the edge of town
Way out in the sticks

Thinking this would be a lovely walk
On a glorious sunny day
And though these shoes aren’t made for walking
I’d not have it any other way
My shirt is soaked with rain and sweat
But I’ve made it here at last
Now my songs and croaking throat ring out
During Matzel Xander’s broadcast

Strolling by the Neckar
Rowboats gliding gently by
Reminds me of the Wear
Beneath a Durham sky
Letting the lilting birdsong
Carry me away
Until a jolly punter’s dulcet tones
Catch me in mid-sway

Ah, that would be Klaus Hipp
The delightful ’Neckar Caruso’
Prompting his passengers in mid-punt
To crave just one Cornetto
Romantic ice-cream thoughts
To the tune of ‘O Sole Mio’
Licking nuts and chocolate chips
To Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’

Standing by the statue
of composer Friedrich Silcher
Taking instructions by osmosis
for the story of a Miller
Thinking about the book
I was so wanting to write
To lay to rest the last eight months
In a tunnel without light

Sitting under the ash tree
Munching a vegan baguette
Outside Café Im Hirsch
With Carolyn and Margit
Then drinking in the Boulanger
With Tibor, Frank and Mike
Discussing the Lindisfarne Gospels
And thirty years of the Miners’ Strike

Taking a coffee with Otto Buchegger
Outside Café Primer Express
Watching the Tübingen girls go by
Daydreaming about sex
Then talking of Vienna
And how we both love it so
And wishing I could relive
Memories of long ago

Then it’s back to the airport
Time to say goodbye
To friendships I’ve rekindled
Beneath a Swabian sky
But I know it’s just a short while
Until I come back again
Singing arm in arm with Keithyboy
Our Tübingen refrain

(Gary Miller)

Click here to order.

Today and over the following 2 days, I will be travelling up to Slate Room Studio in Pentcaitland with Mad Martins producer Iain Petrie, to oversee the mastering of the 50-track triple album by experienced mastering engineer Garry Boyle. It's very exciting to finally be at this stage!

DISC 1:

INTRO (ISABELLA MARTIN):
01. THREE MAD MARTINS (Prophecy)

WILLIAM MARTIN:
02. A POEM ON THE PLACE OF MY BIRTH
03. THE LEAPING SWORDSMAN
04. GOD AND AIR
05. WILLIAM MARTIN'S DREAM
06. IN DREAMTIME
07. WILLIAM MARTIN'S INVENTIONS
08. THE DANDY HORSE
09. ON LIBRARIES
10. JUST AN INOFFENSIVE WIFE
11. THE PHILOSOPHER'S CURE FOR THE CHOLERA MORBUS
12. MEDALS
13. A DESCRIPTION OF WILLIAM MARTIN
14. WILLIAM, YOU WERE REALLY SOMETHING
15. REFLECTIONS

DISC 2:

JONATHAN MARTIN:
16. OF MY CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH
17. IN THE NAVY
18. SHOOT THE BISHOP!
19. MUSINGS ON THE MADHOUSE
20. FOUR BARE WALLS
21. ESCAPE 
22. THE LIFE OF JONATHAN MARTIN
23. MY 'LIFE'
24. BALLAD OF THE INCENDIARY
25. JONATHAN'S DEPARTURE FROM MARIA
26. MARIA'S TESTIMONY
27. A DESCRIPTION OF JONATHAN MARTIN
28. AT THE ASSIZES
29. MADHOUSE MARTIN
30. CHARLES DICKENS ON JONATHAN MARTIN (Part 1)
31. A PAINTING FOR CHARLES
32. CHARLES DICKENS ON JONATHAN MARTIN (Part 2)

DISC 3:

JOHN MARTIN:
33. JOHN'S SONG
34. PICTURE THE SCRIPTURES
35. THE PLAINS OF HEAVEN
36. LIGHTNING STRIKES
37. SEARCHING FOR THE WATERS OF OBLIVION
38. THAT'S ME!
39. FACING-BOTH-WAYS
40. A THIN VENEER
41. I SAW THE SIGNS
42. IN MY HANDS
43. THE PAINT AND THE PAIN
44. JOHN MARTIN'S DRAINAGE SCHEME
45. A LETTER FROM JOHN MARTIN
46. WICKED OLD WORLD
47. EDWARD BULWER-LYTTON ON JOHN MARTIN
48. PANDEMONIUM
49. AT ANCHOR

OUTRO:
50. THREE MAD MARTINS (Epitaph)

The recent sessions have been varied and interesting...

First of all, Whisky Priests stalwart Mick Tyas came up during the last weekend of August and recorded lead vocals on two songs ('The Dandy Horse' and 'In The Navy') plus a lovely mandolin part (on 'In The Navy') as well as loads of backing vocals on various tracks. Mick, together with producer Iain Petrie and myself, finished off the weekend having fun recording various bits of percussion and crazy vocal stuff on a number of songs, particularly 'In The Navy', for which Mick got into character to play the part of a bossy napoleonic sea captain roaring commands to his motley crew!! It has been really exciting to have Mick involved in the project to such a major degree and his enthusiasm shone throughout. Here is a 'fly on the wall' clip of Mick and me rehearsing 'In The Navy' in my living room one morning, prior to heading to the studio to record it (I hope you enjoy it!):

Next up, my dear friend Jennie Beasty came in and recorded some lovely fiddle parts (she's due to return this weekend to record some more).

Then, my twin brother (and Whisky Priests co-founder) Glenn breezed through one day to record some further accordion parts to those he recorded last year for the project. This time he contributed to a couple more songs and also recorded three solo instrumental pieces (see below). It was wonderful to be back in the studio with Glenn again - no fuss, no bother, total commitment, great work and most enjoyable!

Mick Tyas returned for a second session in the studio, this time bringing with him his 'Tippin The Wink' cohort Richard Doran. Recording live as a duo, they worked extremely hard and enthusiastically, laying down 9 traditional tunes on mandolin and dulcimer/bouzouki respectively in a matter of a few hours, including such classic North East of England tunes as 'Buy Broom Besoms', 'Sir John Fenwick's The Flower Among Them All', 'Bobby Shaftoe' and the following 'Waters of Tyne':

By adding these to the tunes recorded the previous weekend by my twin brother Glenn on accordion ('Derwentwater's Farewell', 'The Fair Flower of Northumberland', 'A.U. Hinny Bird') plus a couple of previously unused outtakes of northumbrian pipe tunes, recorded by Ann Sessoms during the initial 'Mad Martins' sessions last year, we finally have all the instrumental pieces in place to use as backing tracks to the remaining spoken word pieces that we plan to record with Keith Armstrong next week.

In the meantime, we recently completed the project's two big production numbers - 'In My Hands' with its full orchestral arrangement (painter John Martin's pompous reflection on his work and a tongue in cheek nod to Last Night of the Proms!) and the epic and nightmarish 'Shoot The Bishop!'

As well as the final sessions with Keith and Jennie, we'll be finishing off the last bits of recording with some female gospel harmonies on a couple of tracks and laying down the final song of the sessions ('A Thin Veneer') totally live as an acoustic male/female duet (Bob Dylan/Joan Baez style! ha ha!).

Lots more news on 'Mad Martins' coming very soon!

In the meantime, here is a link to a rough and ready 10-minute sampler of many of the tracks from the Mad Martins double album that I have had to prepare for demonstration purposes (though it should be noted that some fot he tracks are unfinished versions, rough mixes, guide vocal versions, demo versions, etc). Hopefully, however, this will serve as a brief taster for what is to come: Mad Martins Pre-Release Sampler.

As a taster to the forthcoming 'Mad Martins' double CD and book, I am offering a FREE DOWNLOAD - for a limited period only - of one of the songs ('The Paint & The Pain') via the NEW Mad Martins Bandcamp Page.

To claim your free download, simply click on the link here, which will take you to 'The Paint & The Pain' Page on Bandcamp, then click the BUY NOW link on the left hand side to access the DIGITAL TRACK, enter 0.00 in the '£' box, enter your email address in the 'Email' box, click 'OK' and your free download will be sent immediately to the inbox of your email account.

The following preview tracks from my forthcoming Mad Martins album are available to listen to via the Mad Martins ReverbNation Page for a limited time here and below:

Track listing:

A Poem On The Place of My Birth

In Dreamtime

Madhouse Martin

I Saw The Signs

The Paint and The Pain

Facing-Both-Ways

Picture The Scriptures

Maria's Testimony (Home Demo)

Enjoy!

Please help to support the Page - check it out and LIKE it by following the link below - Thanks!:

Don't forget, there are also Facebook Musician/Band Pages for both Gary Miller and The Whisky Priests.

Check out and LIKE Gary Miller

Check out and LIKE The Whisky Priests:

The Whisky Priests (official)

GARY MILLER:

Gary Miller Android Mobile App

THE WHISKY PRIESTS:

The Whisky Priests Android Mobile App

NB:- Each of these pages features a unique and exclusive selection of full-length song files to listen to:

The Mad Martins Page includes a broad selection of Early  Mixes and Home Demos from the forthcoming album.

The Gary Miller Page includes full-length tracks from 'Reflections on War', 'Stand Fast, Stand Steady', 'Going Down With Alice' and more.

The Whisky Priests Page includes at least one full-length track from every Whisky Priests album.

For the Mad Martins ReverbNation Page: click here

For the Gary Miller ReverbNation Page: click here

For The Whisky Priests ReverbNation Page: click here

Gary Miller on MySpace:

The Whisky Priests on MySpace:

A few tweets have already been made but expect more soon with lots of exciting news to come. In the meantime, if you have a Twitter account, please follow The Whisky Priests for regular future updates.

1. Three Martins (Prophecy)

2. In Dreamtime

3. Just an Inoffensive Wife

4. The Dandy Horse

5. William, You Were Really Something

6. Ballad of the Incendiary

7. Madhouse Martin

8. Picture The Scriptures

9. The Paint and The Pain

10. John Martin's Drainage Scheme

11. Searching for the Waters of Oblivion

12. Pandemonium

13. Three Martins (Epitaph)

UPDATE - The Whisky Priests 'Full Circle' limited edition T-shirt (back print on white shirt) is now completely SOLD OUT - no more will be printed. Thanks to all those who bought it and apologies to those who missed out. Further T-shirt designs, however, will be available soon.

Although The Whisky Priests 'Full Circle' limited edition front cover T-shirt design is now sold out, a very small handful of 'Full Circle' CD EP's are still available (at the time of writing this quantity is less than 10 copies! - featuring the rare song Full Circle, the rare alternate mix of Alice In Wonderland, plus 3 exclusive tracks from an acoustic radio session) only from my official online Shops here on this website or via The Whisky Priests Bandcamp Page

FURTHER UPDATE - The 'Full Cricle' CD EP is also now completely SOLD OUT. Thanks to everyone who bought a copy.