Crossing the Rhine, 26 June 2009. The previous day, I’d ridden from London to Strasbourg and had a fabulous dinner there, trying baked bone marrow for the first time.
When checking out of my hotel, the French gentleman receptionist gave me a shocked look and said two words: ‘Michael Jackson’; he’d died during the night.
Rode off the boat, through the Black Forest to Stuttgart, where I visited the @porsche.museum . Then got on the Autobahn and saw 165mph on my way to Feldkirch in Austria. That was a *day*.
#motorcycles #touring #hayabusa #motorcyclesofinstagram #europe
Brilliant show by @cloth_band last night at @dolans_limerick . They even played my fav song of theirs - Ladder. Paul is officially a harmonics-wielding mensch, and shout out to @steve_of_dings , who plays lovely chords and has great taste in films.
This is a hard one. Been playing this over and over all week and still don’t have it perfect, with a few details to iron out, but I need to give it a rest or it’s gonna drive me mad.
#bass #bassplayer #steelydan #chuckrainey #musiccover
Who, or what, is ‘Buzz’? And why is this banger - probably their most Beatle-esque song - so short? We may never know.
#Steely Dan #bass #bassplayer #musiccover #music
What an unexpected treat this morning to be given a private visit to the cottage home of poitin and fiddle-playing legend Mickey McIlhatton.
Immortalised in song with lyrics by Bobby Sands while he was imprisoned at Long Kesh H Blocks, set to music by @christy_moore123 .
I’ve loved this song since I became obsessed with Christy’s 1984 album Ride On as a teenager. Growing up in Glasgow, having never visited Ireland, many of the songs I assumed were fictional, fantasy. But I was disabused of this as I got older and dug deeper.
And here we are at Mickey McIlhatton’s cottage ‘in Glenravel’s Glen’.
Thanks so much to Declan from @willow_and_lore_farm for bringing me here, and to Sabrina and Isla for the tea and biscuits!
#antrim #mcilhatton #poitin #christymoore #bobbysands
A bit of Saturday morning Steely Dan for you. I know you didn’t ask, but hey. The unmistakable @bernardprettypurdie on drums, Chuck Rainey on bass, Larry Carlton on guitar and a superb solo by the late, great Walter Becker himself.
Apparently Donald Fagen spent four whole days punching in the ‘Well, the…’ vocal at the chorus. Haha , we love you for it, Don.
#bass #bassplayer #steelydan #music #musiccover
After a bit of a chat with a pal about the power of @portisheadofficial , I thought I’d have a go at butchering The Rip. What a song. Saw them play an unforgettable version at Coachella in 2008.
#bassplayer #bass #music #musiccover
Bands that should’ve been vast - Defunkt. Everyone has a favourite trombone player, right? You can’t say George Chisholm or Rico Rodriguez. It’s Mr Joe Bowie.
I’ve loved this record - In America - since 1988, and lost count of the number of copies I gave away. It’s more relevant today than ever, unfortunately.
The bass throughout is mesmerising, laid down by the great Kim Clarke, one of the baddest bass players ever. And it sounds to me like she’s playing a MusicMan StingRay.
I gave up playing for 20-odd years and only started again a few months ago - you can tell, right? And this tune is one I would never have tried back then. My attempt isn’t perfect, but what the hell. I’m old and Scottish.
I hope Joe, Kim, Bill, John, Kenny and Ronnie are all doing great.
#bassplayer #bass #music #musiccover
