OLIVER with a TWIST

Uncommonly Interesting News

How very appropriate! Our Oliver has been signed up to appear in the new Cameron Macintosh version of  "Oliver"  (by far the most exciting musical production in London's West End!) He's currently in rehearsals and the show should open this week at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. And guess who he is working along side? Guess who is playing (You gotta pick a pocket or two) Fagin? ....How absolutely perfik - YAY! Its only MR BEAN!  Rowan Atkinson is absolutely ideal as the gangly gang leader - and the Tony award winning musical director and my own personal favourite choreographer is  Matthew Bourne! I don't know if you've ever seen his version of  Nut Cracker but it really is very pink, gorgeous and outrageously funny. If you think you don't like ballet.....think again! - You should also check out his all male version of "Swan Lake" Hillarious!

Earlier in the Year the BBC aired a weekly show called "I'd Do Anything" featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber and John Barrowman as judges to "Find Nancy". Out of thousands of contestants, a winner was chosen. Jody Prenger and .....Good grief! - I've just wikepedid her and apparently she  won the second series of The Biggest Loser in 2006, starting the show a size 26 and weighing 18st 2lbs. During the series, she lost over eight stone and her final weight was 9st 9lbs!!!!! WOW!

 Stop Press! .....Mr Macintosh has Adeste Fiddles in his car stereo!........During a recent after hours "lock in" at a Dickensian pub very close to the scene of rehearsals, the blatantly self promoting Mr.Lewis was seen by an insider passing a copy of "Adeste Fiddles" to the illustrious producer. Apparently the sub text "Christmas with a Twist" caught his eye :) Perfik!

Here's the link to the official website:

http://www.oliverthemusical.com

 

So, Question - What goes Oh Oh Oh? - Answer - Santa walking backwards (I opened my cracker early this year :) Speeks soon x

It’s all going rather well!!

Only three weeks to go till Santa slides sveltely down the chimney (Even Santa has a personal trainer these days). He says he has big bones but Mrs Claus will beg to differ - She asked me to pass on a special message from her and the little helpers.

“Please don’t leave mince pies and sherry this Christmas Eve. If you want to help us and all the children of the future, place a nice crispy leaf of lettuce, some sliced onion, tomato and drizzle with some low cal dust ( you can eat as much dust as you like – its virtually calorie free and relatively inexpensive!)  All washed down with a bottle of yummy still water! “With your help we can keep the blighter going for a few more years.

Talking of funny foodstuffs – I heard on the radio this morning that when the Tombs of Egypt were being excavated (raided and plundered if you like ;) Shopkeepers in London would import a Mummy and place it in their shop window - to give the impression of being well travelled and successful. One of the off shoots was a dubious delicacy called “Mummy Dust” – (See it's all linked – I’m not just rambling) Powdered Mummy - Eeeeeeew! You’d take a pinch and sprinkle sparingly into a good stiff shot of port for a bit of a lift towards the late afternoon.  

You couldn’t make this up could you!

 

Anyway…….Number 19 in the Billboard Classical Crossover charts WOOHOOOO! I received an email from the Associate Chart Production Manager, asking who Deviations Project was, as we’d just popped in to their chart!! Well I had to have a quiet word with Matron, who very kindly reminded me ;) 

We’re both ecstatic and I’ll be filling you in on the results of a very important meeting on Wednesday the 10^th next week!

Toodles!

 

WELL! - Doesn’t Time Fly! Only one year late but “Adeste Fiddles” WILL Fly on November 4^th 2008.

Its already available on iTunes and Emusic, but now you can actually wrap your physical fingers around it, hold it up to your lips and kiss it gently and lovingly (No tongues mind – it’s a family album  ;) 

 

So! - A Holiday CD to pop in your stocking! – Barnes and Noble have made it Exclusive, so be prepared for your ears to be mesmerised by the overhead sound system when you pop in looking for exquisite gifts in the next few weeks.  Be prepared - to find yourself inextricably lured to the sales desk with the hypnotic pounding of “The Sugar Plum Fairy” ….to be whisked helplessly to  the magical strains of “My Favourite things” (Well! I tried to spell “Favourite” the American way and my  spell checker won’t let me!!!) Be prepared to arrive home and find your bags and pockets filled with “Adeste” albums – EVERY ONE WILL WANT ONE!  I always like to buy a CD then Rip - Call me old fashioned but I like to have something to hold in my hand)

 

Oh! - S'cuse the innuendo, but it is Pantomime season! OH YES IT IS!  Till next time - Happy Trails!

You’re gona love our new baby! XXX

Dave Reveals Track 15 Mystery!!

If you haven’t waded tirelessly through the reams of endless waffle I laughingly call a blog then I’ll save you some time. We’ve had several messages asking about track 15 on Ivory Bow  “Oh, Eso es un Castillo Bonito” What does the title mean and what is the original title?

Well….*grandiose pause for effect* ….Firstly it isn’t from the brilliantly animated classic “Beauty and the Beast” – although the overture is soooooo similar – and I’m sure Disney must have been aware of this ;) The bit where the pages of the story book are slowly turning and the narrator begins to tell the story of Belle and the Beast. No - It’s a little classical toon from the “Carnival of the Animals” – or “Le Carnaval des Animaux” to be really poshJ  by Camille Saint-Saens and its called Aquarium.

Our title “Oh, Eso es un Castillo Bonito”. (I’m not sure if the Spanish is correct cos I made it up - but it looks pretty cool?) is a tribute to an old joke. Cast your mind back to another Disney Classic – “Fantasia” Yeah -I know I’m waffling again but do you remember the lovely Goldfish from Nutcracker section? The one with the big eyelashes? Well when I heard Aquarium for the very first time I kept thinking of that gold fish. The title means “Oh – that’s a nice Castle” and apparently because a goldfish only has a 10 second memory, every time she swims around the bowl she “sees” the castle for the very first time!

WELL YOU DID ASK!

 

More soon – and be assured …..there will be wilful waffle!

It'll Soon Be Christmas

Well! ...... 

Thank you so much to all the kind words from the guys at Barnes and Noble! Check out the enthusiastic comments on our MySpace page about Ivory Bow which is currently being played on the instore overhead sound system. Its really good to get such positive feedback in the early weeks of a new release and certainly helps to steady the nerves!

I can't believe that Ivory Bow has only been "free" for a couple of weeks and already we're talking about Christmas. I looked back over some earlier entries from almost a year ago and I quote from October 9th …

"After six sizzling months of intense musical shananigans - the Christmas baby has been delivered. "Fly away my darling" I cried as she took flight - Over the ocean to the land of the free and peanut jelly. She didn't even glance back, but I'm sure I heard a giggle on the wind and a little voice chirrup "I'm going to make it in the states!"

Ha! - Wrong again – (It's a gift)!

Cos last year, after all the excitement  "Adeste Fiddles", - our interpretation of some of the world's most wonderful Holiday music – ( Christmas Classics with a twist ;) - ran into a bit of a legal mess and couldn't be released in physical CD form.

Now it's all hands to the pump as we're finalising artwork, checking and re-checking the master recordings.  So gird up your loins and prepare for more insane, rambling Bulletins in the coming weeks...

...It'll Soon Be Christmas!!!

ONLY ONE WEEK TILL “IVORY BOW DAY”

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! I'm so excited, I may pass out (carefully onto a strategically positioned sofa ;) *sigh*

I gave my entire staff a whole week off, so they'd be refreshed and ready for "Ivory Bow Day" ....not realising that the lawns needed mowing. “Bugger” I thought, as I manfully strode across the ankle deep grass. "I’m sure I can do this!"  I scowled gracelessly to myself. Well! ....finding the mower was no easy task, as my enormous 47 car garage is full to bursting with "Stuff I'm going to absolutely need in 3 or 4 years time" ; ) It’s full of

Peculiar gifts that looked fabulous in the shop, then you get home and wonder what the hell were you thinking? 

Full of half hacked logs that were too big for the wood burner – from my “I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok” phase. (I even bought the red tartan shirt ; ) 

It’s full of my old vinyl autographed Queen albums.

 ………Ooh! …my old Art and Design folder…*wistful smile* ….but I digress.

 Talking of garages - Never in my life have I ever parked a vehicle in a garage – something I deeply regretted last week when I left the top down on my lovely CLK sport over night.  I couldn’t believe she actually started up – she was utterly drenched and I had to literally bail her out with a mop and bucket. The day was really hot, so I left the top down to let her dry out…. (Later that evening…. having driven into the city) …Ha! It’s not until you actually climb out of the seat that you realise how wet your trousers are! As you walk away and your pants get colder and damper in the night air. Eeeeeeew! 

Anyway - to cut a ridiculously long story short, I had to mow the lawn myself and the bloody mower packed in and spluttered to a halt halfway thru the job! Now I have to drag myself away from my studio – ( *Stage whispering* where I’m compiling new material for the next DP album! ) and go scouting for a new machine : ( 

Isn’t life a tease darlings?

In Next Weeks Thrilling Issue:

Making good use of used moist wipes – Keeping the “Greens” happy.

A cunning plan to help Mystic Pete with his English ‘Speeks’ whilst craftily promoting Adeste Fiddles.

Covering your car with Cling Film and experimenting with different colour schemes. (Please don’t try this at home)

Searching for “Rocket Fuel” – Some elementary procedures.

If you’re reading this on myspace or facebook our new webhome is http://www.deviationsproject.com

Only Two And a Half Weeks To Go! - IVORY BOW August 5th

The Spanking New Release from our good selves!

(Not suggesting you should spank anyone whilst listening of course ;)

Well I’ll be…….I blogged last week and the release date didn’t change – Can you believe it? Confidence is at an all time High and so I thought why not try another? 

So - now I can confidently announce that our FABULOUS new website is up, running and looking absobloominlutely gorgeous. Oh! which just reminded me of a fan letter I received when I was about 13 – in my first band …and I still recall to this day. She wrote ….”….I really love the band and think you’re absolutely “Georges”  - hehe, lucky George eh?

The Interview

We had oodles fun and games on Wednesday night with Pete from Mystic Radio. We were set to start recording the interview at 9:00pm our time - 2:00pm New Mexico time. The idea was to set up a conference call across the pond because Ollie and I couldn’t be together. So I’m at the Olde Barn in the depths of Sherwood Forest, MSN-ing Ollie (Who’s in London). Pete’s emailing me from Albuquerque saying – “Tested the call - but it's not going through --- how do I get through? Call me!! And I’m furiously dialling on my landline to the good peeps at Ft Lauderdale – trying to get the U.S. Code for Merry England.  I can feel one of me turns coming on just thinking about it ;)

BUT we did it and it was very cool. The end result should be up towards the end of next week and we’ll post the links.

If anyone out there has a favourite radio station – call them and suggest a phone or online interview? …..No really  – we know how to do it now 

The Other Side of the Trax

An insight into recording the toons on  Ivory Bow

The Ivory Bow (Track 8)

A romantic “Disneyesque” theme in very much the same style as She Too from DP1. 

The working title for this was She3, but I was trying to think of a title for the album, something emotive that would encapsulate my relationship with Ollie. I wanted to combine elements of the violin with those of the keyboard and the obvious keywords were Ivory – for the keys and Bow for the fiddle. When spoken aloud, the words painted all sorts of pictures, but best of all, they sounded really good together, so Ivory Bow was born. Originally, I imagined a beautiful ribbon tied in a bow around a tree made from pure velvet. A message from a lover to a loved one that could never be spoken.  Then another picture began to develop in my mind and I could see a hand stretching from a raging sea thrusting a different kind of bow  at a stormy sky. The bow was Excalibur - or music fighting to calm our troubled world.

The title of the album came before the title of the track, so Its all back to front but life’s like that innit? 

Ha! – Spell checker doesn’t like “innit” – but it doesn’t like “Disneyesque” either – think I’ll leave it 

In Next Weeks Thrilling Instalment:

Ollie Plays Moulin Rouge in the Rain

Explaining the Ranking System on “Comments” page

Dave goes to see Kylie Minogue (Well it was a free ticket)

Big Bad Bumble – the pain and the pleasure!

If you’re reading this on myspace or facebook our new webhome is  HYPERLINK "http://www.deviationsproject.com" www.deviationsproject.com 

DROP IN AND LEAVE COMMENTS!

ONLY THREE WEEKS ON TUESDAY! The Ivory Bow – August 5th

I’m almost scared to post now, cos every time I mention a release date – it changes! However I’ve been “reliably” informed that the 5^th of August is set in stone (just like the 4^th was hehe ;)

So…… no more apologies, on with the show!

I had speeks with Pete from “Mystic Radio” last week, about recording a new interview to promote Ivory Bow and we’ve pencilled in 14^th / 15^th or 16^th July. This time Ollie and I’ll be together – and you’ll be able to hear the Maestro speak! We’ll be talking about the way we work together, how we capture the madness and voracity of a performance and squeeze it onto a tiny 5 inch CD. Ooh and if anyone has any questions we could use in the interview, please send ‘em over!

We’ll also be promoting our new website which should be up and running by the end of the week. It’s absolutely bursting with brilliant stuff. Wonderful Wallpapers – Marvellous Musical downloads – New Photos and with all the different formats there are bound to be a few hiccups. Your feedback would be brilliant 

Ollie’s just returned from another successful tour of Trinidad and Tobago . “Strings, Songs and Steel 2008” with stunning Soprano Natalia Dopwell.

So in the maestro’s own words an amusing anecdote……

In Trinidad the Churches (and many homes) have windows, but they have no glass in them; this helps the air circulate etc and no doubt dates them back to pre-airconditioning times... Well, one morning I was rehearsing with my pianist for an evening recital in the Church (as it had a piano in it and the Queens Hall where the concert was that evening was closed).... and low and behold after just 10mins of rehearsal, the Church went from being totally empty to choca bloc with about 200 children from the school over the road... they'd heard the violin sounds through the open windows and had apparently begged their teachers to let them come and listen!!!!! So what started out as a rehearsal turned into a concert!!!! We played them the fast movements from the concertos by Bruch, Mendelsohn, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky... And then of course Flight of the Bumblebee as an encore!!!!! And then.... their teachers dragged them reluctantly back to school!

Hmm – I think Ollie used up all the exclamation marks ;)

On the way home, waiting for the return flight from Barbados - Ollie had a great opportunity to get down to the beach and sunbathe for 4 hours. He had the audacity to text me while I was gazing miserably from my window at the English rain  “I’m having a cool beer on the beach in Barbados” …said the message. Four hours later he was well and truly baked, which kind of cheered me up in a sadistic way. Take that Lobster Boy!

So that’s about it for this week peeps…..

Fings wot I never had time for :

A Jolly day out in Croydon

My son Ribsy’s band  “Fat Lady Singh” (what an awesome name) in the final of the Sky t.v’s  “Live + Unsigned”  battle of the bands competition. Oooh he’s just like his daddy!

My old band “The Ritz” reunion. 

Ollie’s interview for The Strad magazine about violinists in film....How he coached “Ladies in Lavender” star  Daniel Bruehl

Bewitching Music – music for animated short 

On the road with “JAKE + ELWOOD” 

Ok that’s it  - toodles 

Ooh - and you can pre-order Ivory Bow now !

Ooh – Ooh - and A NEW WEB SITE! at www.deviationsproject.com  It should be up by early next week. Woohoooo! Oodles of fun with downloadable wallpaper, ring tones and music.  New Movies – with downloadable soundtracks. Gasp…see you next week?..........oh go on.....I know you want to……. 

ONLY FOUR WEEKS TO GO! The Ivory Bow – August 5th

Once again humungus apologies for the time between blogs. (Launching headlong into “It’s not our fault” tirade of excuses).

Horrendous Legal problems.

Distribution Difficulties.

Ollie playing Bumble Bee so fast, my computer kept over heating and crashing.

Couldn’t get the lid off my favourite honey for three weeks, due to numb fingers…..a consequence of trying to mix down Ollie’s maniacal “Bumble” madness.

The “Bumblebee” we are featuring on Ivory Bow is not the fastest version we’ve done, but so far its definitely the coolest, with a massive beat to back it up. It was going to be the opening track on the album but when I tested it in my Car (for the final audio check, I always wait for a sunny day, get the roof down, Crank up the volume, slip into “Sports Mode” and Floor it. WELL………….even with the top down, it nearly blew the bloody doors off!!!” – to miss quote Michael Cane ;) This is my over elaborate way of saying that I didn’t want to scare any bodies pants off until a little later in the album. So, you have been warned – Track 9 ……twitchy fingers hovering over the volume control……..

Bumblebee (2) will be featured on next years album – it’ll be faster with a completely new musical accompaniment – Every album will come with a free pair of disposable paper pants and a small pack of moist wipes.

So more next week – Including……..

Ollie goes to Trinidad.

Adeste Fiddles to be released for Christmas 2008.

Ollie’s interview with “The Strad” magazine regarding his violin coaching in the wonderful “Ladies in Lavender” movie.

….and “How I got the top off the honey with a screwdriver and a monkey wrench”

Ooh - and you can pre-order Ivory Bow now thru B+N!

Ooh – Ooh - and A NEW WEB SITE! at www.deviationsproject.com It should be up by next week. Woohoooo! Oodles of fun with downloadable wallpaper, ring tones and music. New Movies – with downloadable soundtracks. Gasp…see you next week?..........oh go on.....I know you want to……. 

Ivory Beaux

Hey Everybodypeeps -

Spring is here and everything is all curly and new - Woohoo!

So here as promised is the new track listing with original titles and composers. Did anyone get the Camera Gazing anagram? Ooh and how about Bolliero? - how funny! Oh and if you still don’t get track 14 (The Spanish title) its not an anagram. A bit obscure, but the piece is based on Aquarium - so a vague reference to an old joke about the memory span of a goldfish  ......Well if you’re still in the dark, message me and I’ll explain :)

 

1. Big Bad Bumble                                 Flight of the BumbleBee-Rimsky Korsakov

2. Pavanorama                                      Pavane  - Gabriel Faure

3. Celtic Frock*                                     Original – Dave Williams

4. Bolliero                                            Bolero - Ravel          

5. Carmen Over to My Place                    Carmen fantasy 3^rd Movement - Sarasate

6. Canned Rock                                     Can Can - Offenbach

7. Arabian Knights                                 The Arabian Dance - Tchaikovsky           

8. The Lying King                                   In the Hall of the Mountain King - Grieg   

9. The Ivory Bow*                                  Original – Dave Williams

10.Flight of the Crimson Queen*               Original – Dave Williams

11.Edelweiss                                         Rodgers and Hammerstein

12.Carmen Electro                                 Carmen fantasy 1st Movement Sarasate

13.Gypsy Cream                                    Czardas - Monti

14.Oh, Eso es un Castillo Bonito               Aquarium - Saint-Saens

15.Dance of the Rude Peeps                    Dance of the Reed Pipes - Tchaikovsky

16.Camera Gazing                                 Amazing Grace – Unknown

17.Ave Maria                                        Bach / Gounod

 

Also some interesting news, I remixed a classic Amethystium track ( yipes - always have to check spelling - its just getting the E’s - I’s and Y’s the right way round ;) - called Arcus last year. It turned out really well and is now available for download on Oystein’s site! Well go on then - it’s absolutely FREE!

http://amethystium.com/downloads-remixes.php

Another little tasty "Ivory Bow" snippet - as well as the extactic fiddling from the Maestro himself, I’ve managed to sneak in some pretty tasty guitar licks on a couple of the trax.......Yeah I can play standing up too :)

Tune in next time to find out how the Artwork is coming along.

Toodles!

The Ivory Bow

Pant ...Gasp.......Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!! Just come up for air! 

Phew, that was a long blog break - nothing since November :(  but now I can safely say that the new album "The Ivory Bow" is finally complete. WELL, what a long slog it was. We started way back in March 2007, but had to postpone whilst furiously fiddling away with the "Adeste Fiddles" our Christmas Album ( Yeah I know - enough said, except to say that it WILL be released this year in time for Xmas 2008.)
      I’m posting a track list just to whett your appetites and you’ll notice that nearly all the titles are just as deviant as the music. In a couple of weeks I’ll print a "translation" so you can identify which classics we’ve taken liberties with. Just a bit of fun - but I don’t get out much ;)
Oh and btw - no prizes for guessing the title of the first one!

1. Big Bad Bumble

2. Pavanorama

3. Celtic Frock*

4. Bolliero

5. Canned Rock

6. Carmen Over to My Place

7. Arabian Knights

8. The Lying King

9. The Ivory Bow*

10.Flight of the Crimson Queen*

11.Edelweiss

12.Carmen Electro

13.Gypsy Cream

14.Oh, Eso es un Castillo Bonito

15.Dance of the Rude Peeps

16.Camera Gazing

17.Ave Maria  

Oh - and no prizes for Track 11 and 17 ......OOoooh and 16 is an  anagram. Woohooooo!
ps.   * asterix means "Songs wot I rote"

Ta tha noo!  (Don’t ask)