Al Stuart Creative Blog

That's entertainment

2008-03-25T15:02:00.002Z

February and its time to go see the latest US guitar slinger, you know the kind of thing, started playing at the age of two!
This was Joe Bonamassa and his band. Touted as a blues guitar player his style is very much in the classic 70's hard rock envelope. No complaints from me,Shepherds Bush empire is Sold Out. Quite impressive for an artist not well known over here in the UK.
We've got tickets in the stalls,and position ourselves with a reasonable view of the stage. That was until the world's tallest bloke and his best friend (who was runner up in the competition) come and stand right in front of us! I'm six foot -ish and I had to stand on tip toes to see anything, no such luck for the smaller members of our party who only had the back of a xxl demin jacket to look at.
Still the sound was good. You could feel your trousers flapping in the 'wind' from the speakers,and the next day a fine whistling sound in your ears. Rock n Roll.

March. Were off to see the rather excellent british blues/rock guitar player, Matt Schofield at the Borderline in central London. A nice little venue. We arrived early and got seated with an unobstructed view of the stage. I took my camera along and despite the gloomy lighting I managed to get a couple of good photos. We've seen Matt a lot of times and he always puts on a great show.
Next month were going to see the Black Crowes at the Brixton Academy. Their only UK date which has sold out, looking forward to that gig.

This weekend our kitchen/diner had its official launch or should that be Lunch?
On Saturday we had my brother and my dad and their partners over and on Sunday ,my brother and sister in law. So it was my chance to slave over a hot new range cooker.
It's certainly easier to entertain now with the extra space.

work

2008-01-22T12:42:00.000Z

Working in advertising or graphic design, to people in ‘ordinary’jobs is either a glamerous job filled withbeautiful people, exotic photo shoots and long lunches.
Or a world populated by a bunch of overpaid art school nancy-boys and lemon sucking po faced women with heavy drug habits, making really annoying commercials for the latest Ford Menopause sports utility vehicle..
My expertise, if you can call it that, is through -the- line advertising. This isn’t your fancy big budget commercials (or films, as top creatives call them). It’s all the stuff the superstar creatives wouldn’t touch with yours.
The Direct Marketing, the Door Drop, the Shelf Sticker, the end of gondola display(don’t ask ).
Sure, you do get the occasional ad to do. But there’s no huge photo shoot. It’s probably a Trade ad, or a small black and white ad in the regional press.
Oh, and don’t try to have a witty headline or some stylish photography. There won’t be any room left once you include the coupon (with a scissors motif,just in case people don’t realise they have to cut it out to post it ), the telephone number in a type size for the hard - of - seeing and the starburst telling you to hurry while stocks last!
Since going freelance most of my work has been for small,through -the-line Ad agencies needing a hand with creative work for new business pitches. This can be quite excitng. A blank pad, with no restrictions.
I usually ride (bike) into town. Meet the creative director and account exec at the agency to be briefed.It only takes an hour or so, I sit in the board room sipping my coffee, stroking my chin, nodding sagely and playing with my stylish Oakley reading glasses (age!) in a creative person sort of way,whilst they waffle on about target audience and other facinating facts.
Briefing over I ride home again.I usually have a couple of days to come up with some ideas. Agencies expect three routes or campaigns to show to their prospective client.
So that’s one straight fairly safe route, a slightly more edgy idea,and a really mad,crazy idea that all the creatives like but the MD'wife hates.
I usually present my ideas as magic marker sketches on layout paper, but increasingly agencies expect you to present visuals produced on an Apple personal computer. ( Mac visuals)
This brings me neatly round to the other area of my freelance work.
Graphic design.
I sometimes wonder how small Graphics outfits make any money at all. I have people call me up having seen my ad in the local Yellow Pages. They’re looking for, in the main, letterhead and business card design but sometimes even a logo and complete corporate identity .
These callers are, like me, small businesses trying to make a living. however when I mention my fee they gasp in amazement. “that’s a bit steep” they say .
It seems that they think I do this stuff for fun, I tell them I have 25 years experience, and I do this to earn a living in much the same way they fit replacement windows or whatever.
The trouble is at the back of their mind they’re thinking they could always design it themselves!!.
Since the advent of the dreaded PC nearly everyone thinks they’re a designer. I need look no further than my own father! A man in his mid seventies he spends his retirement designing posters and flyers for various organisations in the Warwick area on his home PC. He rings me from time to time to ask advice on type or how to retouch out a splodge on a picture in Photoshop!
Don’t get me wrong the PC/Mac is a very useful tool. In days gone by if I was doing a visual that had,say, a black background with white type, it would take forever hand drawing the type and then carefully colouring in the background round it. Now I can have the background any colour I like,I can change the font, its size, its colour,
its position on the page.
All at the click of a pearly white Apple mouse.
Thankfully however there is still no “ idea button on a computer!
So perhaps my skills and experience are good for a few years yet.
Work

northfields

2008-01-22T10:47:00.000Z

I knew when I started to work freelance 8 or 9 years ago ( You lose all sense of time when you’re freelance )
exactly how my ideal day would pan out.
After waving Julie (chief bread winner and all round super mum ) off to work I would finish my breakfast, take my daughter Lauren to school, and then pop down to my local shops (butcher,baker,candlestick emporium,) to pick up the days provisions.
I’d be home by 9.30 ready do some really fantastic creative ads, or some stylish design work on my newly acquired Apple computer thingy.
Well, that was the plan, and in fact, right up to the bit where I return home, that’s pretty much my daily routine.
Julie leaves the house at some ungodly hour. Usually on the way out the door she’ll ask me to remember to do something which i’ll instantly forget about.... until about 5 minutes before she comes home!
I then have to supply Lauren ( my daughter ) with endless bowls of breakfast cereal and toast while she sits in a semi-trance watching TV. Usually some terrible Disney channel sitcom featuring some very loud American girls all shouting at one another.I don’t actually take her to school anymore. About 8.30 Sophie,one of her classmates knocks on the door and the two of them go off to school together, staggering under a pile of school bags full of football boots (regular and astroturf ) netball kit, (very sporty these girls ) lunch boxes,crumpled up bits of homework,leaking pens and old sweet wrappers.
I quite miss taking her to school. It was a way of keeping track of what was going on.
Or as Lauren seems to think, it was my excuse to say hello to all the ‘yummy mummies’, Honestly!
Me - “Hi”
Unknown mum - “hello”
Lauren- “whose that dad?
Me - “I don’t know”
Lauren - ‘“but that lady just said Hello”
Me - “Yes, she did didn’t she” smiling to myself in a Leslie Phillips kind of way .
Anyway, after the girls wander off mumbling “see ya later ” I take myself down to our rather excellent parade of local shops.First stop is the paper shop,not any old paper shop, and we do have a lot of paper shops in our street,but Sat’s shop.
Sat’s newspaper shop is where, along with ordinary people, freelancers, part timers, the semi-retired (as a friend calls me), house husbands and various ner -do-wells gather to debate the important events going on in the world today..
Here I can buy my paper and discuss the tragic events taking place at Sunderland football club or the dearth of UK tours by obscure US blues bands from the 70’s. with my friendly newsagent Sat.
Next door to Sats is a rather fantastic butcher shop.So fantastic in fact, that on a Saturday you have to queue to get in. The queue can stretch out of the shop and down the street.
A queue so long,that in theory, you can be in the paper shop next door buying your Saturday Independent and be in the queue for the butchers at the same time!I. I don’t know what it is but every time I go in, they’re usually just coming to the punch line of a very unsavoury joke!
The staff of the butchers shop all look like “real butchers”. You know, big hands, big bodies, hilarious facial hair. They also fancy themselves at mind reading, trying to second guess me.
“hello sir, Pound of extra lean mince?” or “chicken fillets? “ Blimey am I that predictable.!!
I feel really good when they guess wrongly “Actually I’ll have that pork loin..chinned and scored please”. I can hear them say ”bleedin’Jamie Oliver” under their breath when they turn their back to perform my request.
Every couple of days I’ll visit the Parkers the Baker . This is your timewarp bakers shop with an old - but - probably -back -in - fashion bakalite sign outside, and a wonderful fresh bread smell inside.This incidently is another shop that on Saturdays has a queue outside. Shopping can take a while in Northfields,best bring along some reading material.(see paper shop)
The shop is owned by mrs Parker.Y ou don’t see mrs Parker very often, She rolls up in her Mercedes from time to time to check up on the staff.( Did you see what I did there, rolls up,bakers.geddit?)
Parkers is run on a day to day basis and with an iron fist by Sylvia. A Liverpudlian with a tongue so sharp you could slice a Crusty Bloomer with it.Again like the Butchers they tend to guess my choice of bread.
“Sandwich loaf? Healthy? (granary ) Unhealthy? (White ) Sliced, like yourself?” Thats Thick sliced..geddit?
mmm Liverpudlian humour!
“Ooh, Northfields has such a villagey feel to it” as one creep commented on the local ‘community’(god, I hate
that word ) website. But,he’s right you know!

jazz joint birthday

2007-12-27T15:23:00.000Z

Last year,for our joint 50th birthdays, Julie and I went to gig Tampa Florida (well we didn't just go for the music,we were there for two weeks over christmas).Ooh the extravagance!
This year we also went to a gig. In Camden Town.
As I've mentioned,the building work on our house has left us skint, Christmas is cancelled.
However,thanks to my brother Moray and his wife Gill we could celebrate our 51st birthdays with a meal and live music at the Jazz Cafe in Camden.
We've been to the Jazz Cafe on numerous occasions, to see various rock/blues/jazz acts.
Tonight was going to be blues /rock. The US guitarist Robben Ford was the headline act. He's a fantastic player, who in the past has played with loads of top bands.Tom Scott & the LA express, Gregg Allman & Friends, Yellowjackets, Miles Davis, and Joni Mitchell, to name a few.
We saw him earlier in the year when he was touring with Larry Carlton,another top player who Stelly Dan used a lot in the studio.
The support ac tonight was a guitar/singer songwriter guy called Mark Buck, who not to put to fine a point on it, was crap!
Still that gave us the chance to eat most of our meal before Robben hit the stage.
I find it a bit weird eating in the dark, you order something, and kind of hope, that when the waitress plonks the plate down in front of you , it is indeed the chicken or whatever you ordered!
Robben came on eventually and played stuff from his new CD "truth" plus a few of his old favourites. About half way through his set he invited Bernard Purdie (the worlds most recorded drummer , Aretha Franklin's stickman on many of her recordings,google him!) to sit in on the drums which was excellent.
So thanks again to Moray and Gill for a great evening. That's the last of the live music for 2007.
We kick off 2008 with Joe Bonamassa at the Shepherds Bush Empire in February.

two blokes from the 70's

2007-12-17T06:48:00.000Z

What a bumper year its been for music,starting back in March with my annual trip to NYC to see The Allman Brothers Band. It's now December and the gigs continue.
Last weekend Moray and I headed off to Herne Hill in South London to catch yet another of the Allman Brothers family. This time it was Gregg's son (not sure which wife is the mum!) Devon and his band Honeytribe.
Our only previous experience of Devon was at a party thrown by the ABB, where he did an acoustic jam with Pedro Arevelo.
The gig was at the Half moon, a huge victorian pub.
THe evenin got off to an amusing start when my borther and I walked in to the public bar at the front of the pub. "hey guys" said a drunken regular, "two blokes from the 1970's have just walked in!
After a pint we headed to the rear of the building to where the band were to play. Not the biggest of venues, a bar at one end, a few tables and chairs and a small stage stuck in the corner. We got ourselves a drink and to our surprise found a table right at the front. A perfect position as I had brought my camera.
The lighting didn't look promising from a photography point of view, a mirror ball and a couple of spots which, as the support band took to the stage, did little to illuminate the stage.
The Oli Brown band proved an excellent opener, Oli,a young, make that very young guitar player in the Stevie Ray Vaughan mode, played some fine blues. I took a few photos of Oli,the spot lights bathing him in a red glow, very difficult to focus properly with red lights. Thats my excuse anyway!
After a short break Devon bounded on to the stage which the bloke playing music over the PA failed to notice! Devon joined in with the track playing a few tasty licks over the track, which was quite amusing.
After a short announce ment by the promoter the band kicked off with a storming version of Maholo, an instrumental track from their album Torch.
Tonight was Gregg Allman's birthday so Devon dedicated a some songs to his dad, by playing a selection of Allman Brothers Band songs! During the gig I managed to get quite a few photos of devon in action.
A great evenings entertainment with a good vibe,( the place was full, always a good sign)and the promoter Pete fenestra certainIy is a fan of good quality rock n roll bands.
'll certainly visit this venue again. A walk and eventual bus ride delivered us to my sister in laws house where we stayed for the night, ears ringing!

a taste of Tuscany

2007-11-29T22:06:00.000Z

Wednesday and another chance to escape the dust and noise of home.
Nick was to pick me up at the house before we headed west to Bray. I knew I should have looked at a map as Nick assured me the SATNAV would take us to our lunchtime destination, Caldesi, an authentic italian restaurant run by Giancarlo Caldesi.
We spent the first 20 minutes of our journey touring the back streets of Southall as the SATNAV took us the scenic (ok it wasnt that scenic) route to Bray.We stopped for petrol and made few ajustments to our navigation aid, and we we're quickly back on route.
Shortly after we arrived at our destination in Bray, a large people carrier pulled up along side us. Out stepped the owner of Caldesi , Giancarlo, and after a brisk introduction we we're ushered inside. Giancarlo insisted that we let him order for us, to ensure we sampled a real Tuscan lunchtime experience.
We had a tremendous meal complete with two white, one rose, one red and one desert wine.( Hic )
Giancarlo was an enthusiastic host, if a little intense at times as he tried to explain the ins and outs of running a top class restaurant. Nick was in the firing line for most of our hosts probing whilst I tried to impress the manager with my very limited knowledge of Italian wine. I also managed to sneak off from time to time to take a few photos, including a few in the kitchens, watching the head chef in action was fun. I cant remember all the wonderful food we had(probably the wine) just check out their website . I'd love to eat here again.

http://www.campagna.caldesi.com/page.php?intPageID=12

more music

2007-11-21T14:43:00.000Z

Two concerts to go to, what a nice way to start the week and to help us forget the crappy weather.
Both gigs were part of the London Jazz Festival. Not sure either concert could be called jazz, certainly not what the popular press would class as Jazz. Monday night saw us at the Barbican to see Chick Corea and Bela fleck. An unusual combination.Chick is recognised as a legendary jazz musician (except when he plays with his electric band, who's guitar led fusion seems to upset the traditionalists) Bela is a banjo player from NYC who leads his own unique band who blend jazz,rock,bluegrass. With just two musicians on stage it was hardly going to be a lively affair, still a really enjoyable evening.
Tuesday we headed to Dingwalls in Camden town to see Matt Schofield, a young british blues guitar player who has caught the eye of the US blues critics. We've seen Matt several times this year and he never disappoints. Hi trio are a tight funky unit, this evening with the tenor sax of PeeWee Ellis. The legendary horn man from Van Morrison's band.
Another great evening, in a nice venue.

baked potato

2007-11-13T09:40:00.000Z

I love cooking, and as I work from home (semi-retired, not my words but probably true) I'm in charge of pretty much all the meals in our family.
The thought of having a new shiny kitchen where I can chop my veg, sip a glass or two of vino and listen to a bit of music certainly got my juices flowing.
The harsh reality of life with our building work going on is beginning to drive me mad. Actually not just me but Lauren and Julie too. Reduced to cooking with the microwave, previously only used to defrost a previously prepared chilli or to soften a spoon bending tub of Ben & Jerry's, fills me with dread.
The one thing I have managed prepare is chicken in a lemon sauce with baked potatoes and a bit of broccolli.
However,the novelty of this admittedly tasty meal is begining to wear off.
Imagine our delight when a friendly neighbour invited us over for dinner. At last a meal in a warm welcoming home. The friends in question are keen cooks themselves so we were anticipating a tasty evening.
As we took our seats around the dinner table, Julie said, to no one in particular, "I never want to see another baked potato for as long as I live!" At which point our kind hosts appear from the kitchen with serving dishes piled high with chicken and, you've guessed it , baked potatoes!!
Still It was delicious meal in good company ,none of whom seemed to have heard Julie's gaff.

Godalming again

2007-11-08T21:40:00.000Z

This week it was back to Bowden Smyth in leafy Godalming (actually, as it's autumn the leaves are on the ground)
Just a couple of days. but as money is flowing out of my pocket and into the builders I musn't grumble.
I quite enjoy seeing Jax and the crew, they're all ex "lahndan" types who unsurprisingly prefer living in the country.
The biggest drawback to working in leafy Surrey is the commute.
I awake to the not so soothing voice of the LBC travel reporter who usually announce that the tube (well my line at least) is running with delays due to late running engineering or because some inconsiderate loony has thrown themselves under the nearest train.
To get to Waterloo I have to change from the Piccadilly line at Green Park to get a Jubilee line train.
This involves a long walk along a long tunnel that smells of sweaty socks. A question. Why do Jubilee line trains make that strange howling noise?
The overland train to Godalming is quite enjoyable. Boarding at Waterloo I can get a seat, and this week ,fed up with reading about z list celebrities in the free Metro paper, I bought myself Eric Clapton's autobiography and settled in to my seat on the sunny side of the 8.15 to Haslemere.
Working for the day with the creative director (jax) is always a fairly relaxed affair. We're both old enough and experienced enough to get on with the work as well as having a laugh.
Going home is never as nice as the outward journey. The Train back to waterloo is usually crowded so it's on with the ipod, and on this occasion, get my nose into my book.
I could get off the train at Clapham junction to get a train to Brentford, but since I sold my 'commuting bike' I usually stayed on the train until Waterloo.
Back on to the howling jubilee line to Green Park. To be truly comfortable standing on the westbound platform of the Piccadilly Line in the evening may I suggest wearing a swim suit. Scorchio!
Wednesday evening was no different, I had, thinking it was getting cooler , worn a fleece lined denim jacket on top of a long-sleeved t-shirt.
Ten minutes passed before a train arrived. so full I couldn't get on. I waited for the next train still too full.
Eventually they announced severe delays to the Piccadilly and Victoria lines. This left me the only option of a Central Line to Ealing. My ipod has enough tunes on it to play for 4 and a half days.Just as well.
Julie and Lauren who had been out to athletics picked me up from the station. Hunger had kicked in at this late stage of the day so we all started shouting at one another. A McDonalds meal washed down with a glass of red wine was hardly a great way to end the day.
Thursdays journey seemed to be going ok until I arrived at Waterloo were a larger than normal crowd stood staring up at the destination board.
Delays cancellations. oh dear! Yes, someone had thrown themselves under a train at Byfleet, marvelous.
After a busy day I made my way to the quaint station at Godalming for my journey home.
"Bing Bong " 'the 17.51 train is running 30 minutes late due to a tree on the line somewhere off, deep in the dark Surrey countryside! Oh ,well at least I have the time to read about Eric Clapton slow slide into heroin addiction.!

Lunch in cambridge

2007-11-05T09:19:00.000Z

Thursday saw Nick and i head to Cambridge for the latest of our out of town lunchtime assignments. Rattling up from Kings Cross on the train, Nick amused us with his SatNav which he had in his stylishly battered journalist bag.I think the SatNav was a touch confused as it kept telling us to turn on to the next available road!
I think I've only ever been to Cambridge once before, I rode a charity bike event from London. After 60 odd miles I was in no fit state to admire the famous university town.
Funny enough i was almost as equally exhausted by the time we arrived at the restaurant on Thursday. I had mistakenly allowed myself to be guided to our destination by Nick.
A combination of not reading the email instructions, ignoring the pocket SatNav and some very poor house numbering on the street, meant we we're late for lunch. In fact it had taken us nearly as long to walk from the station as it had for us to travel on the train from London!
quite a feat as our lunchtime venue is but a buttered rolls throw away from the station..
Alimentum was a lovely restaurant, and after we had recovered from our hike with a large glass of water each, we had a very pleasant lunch. You can check out what we had to eat at www.london-eating.co.uk.

First post

2007-11-01T14:13:00.000Z

The last couple of days have been fun! I've been able to indulge in my two favourite hobbies; music and wine.

Thursday night was spent at the Islington Academy, a venue new to me. I was there to see my favourite guitar player. Derek Trucks. Derek has played with The Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton and is widely recognised as the finest exponent of the slide guitar player in the universe.

I'd managed to beg a photo pass from the band's management. We found a decent vantage point upstairs, and with my new 300m lens I managed to capture the action. I turned everything on my digital camera to manual, including the focus. Any way the gig was as fantastic as I knew it would be, after all I've flown to NYC to see him play!

Friday. I was up early, and still a little deaf from the previous night's gig! Met up with Nick (Editor of London Eating, come on keep up, I've mentioned him before). We were going to a wine tasting at Bookers vineyard in the sleepy village of Bolney West Sussex. Shame the weather was a bit misty. We were shown the vines where the various grapes are grown then it was off to see how the grapes became wine.

Then the good bit, the tasting!! Quite nice but typical English wine, a bit thin and low on alcohol! Still enjoyable. Our guide was a genuine wine anorak, but entertaining and informative.

A buffet lunch followed the tasting and there was a free bottle of vino to take home.

Looks like I'm back in the world of advertising next week down in leafy Godalming.