Tag Archive for "astoria" tag

Sadly, we’ve not only reached the end of our Christmas raffle, but we’ve also reached the end of Phil Taylor’s Q&A.

Hope you’ve enjoyed both.

Thanks again to Phil for his time, and to everybody who sent in a question or two.

Our final raffle winners are Nate (1) and Linda (9). Nate wins a rare US radio promo disc, whilst an exclusive PBS CD of tracks from David’s stint at Abbey Road last year will be winging its way to Linda.

Please let us know where they should be sent.

Finally, and as if enough tears haven’t already been shed thanks to the opening line, this is also the very last entry for 2007, so do have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you all very much for your support over the last two years.

There was supposed to be a chat today, but, due to technical problems, now there won’t be. Sorry to disappoint you.

What is the preferred recording platform at Astoria? Is it all straight to tape or a digital/analogue dump? (Paul B)

Different people have different preferences, with choices made for flexibility, rather than purely for audio resolution. Generally, these days, Protools gets used – our system has Euphonix converters and Shunyata cryogenic power distribution with Kimber and Van den Hul cabling. Contrary to popular belief, the digital recording platform is the hardest medium in which to retain the resolution (audio quality), everything makes a difference to the sound and digital is very susceptible to degradation. If you want to know more about this, check out an interview I did with Tape Op magazine about Astoria a couple of years ago.

Do you have an amusing anecdote you could share with us, be it about David, or anyone else? (Rob)

Yes, my mum still wonders when I am going to get a proper job.

You asked, Phil answered.

Thank you to everyone for sending in a question (or three) for consideration. Special thanks to the names listed below and, of course, to Phil for taking the time to give such honest, insightful answers.

There’s plenty more to follow over the next week or so.

Phil’s book, ‘The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster’ is released very soon. More on that as the week progresses, including your chance to win a copy.

The winners of our latest contest were Tom from NE Scotland, Simon J and Rick Strang.

Congratulations to you. You each win a PBS exclusive live CD from Abbey Road. Please let me know where you’d like it sent.

If you’re interested, our chatroom will be open tomorrow between 1PM and 3PM (UK time).

I’ll also have details of the Crisis charity auctions tomorrow, so do come back for those.

You have one of the best jobs in the world. What do you enjoy the most about working with David? (Mat)

Being there when he plays, particularly standing on the stage three foot behind him during a sound check and hearing/feeling the power, sound and control. Very few people can ever experience how good this can be.

How did you meet David and land this prestigious gig? (Buffalo Phil)

I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they made me an offer that I could not understand.

When not touring, what are you supposed to do? Maintaining all Mr Gilmour’s rigs in working condition? Looking at new gear? (Frédéric)

I am kept busy. I wear a selection of different hats: I run the Astoria recording studio, David’s equipment warehouse, maintain and find new equipment, look after David’s home studio, be a guitar tech when David makes an appearance, sometimes production director for live shows, and a few other duties besides.

If you’re interested in meeting some fans in Florida next weekend, speak up. There’s a get-together arranged for Saturday 28 July – and everyone’s welcome.

The chatroom will be open today between 10AM and 12PM (UK).

If you’re new to the chatroom, don’t be shy. It’s easy to register and even easier to use.

The answer to yesterday’s Name That Tune teaser was… ‘Time’. Well done if you guessed correctly. Today’s screenshot is surely too easy, but there’ll be more Name That Tune next week. I know you love it almost as much as you loved Blotto.

If you’re in the UK, don’t forget that you can see ‘Three Men In A Boat’ tonight at 9PM (UK) on Discovery Real Time. That’s channel 250 on Sky and 271 on Virgin TV.

If you missed it the first time, it’s about three comedians (Dara O’Briain, Griff Rhys-Jones and Rory McGrath) journeying up the Thames in a rowing boat, as they seek to recreate the journey immortalised by Jerome K. Jerome in his 1889 comedy classic of the same name.

They drop in on David’s houseboat-studio, Astoria, for a chat.

Thanks to Roger for letting us know about the repeat broadcast, and do keep an eye on the calendar for more of the same.

What were your two favourite tracks to play on this tour (one from ‘On an Island’ and one from the Floyd back catalogue)? (Geoff Duffy)

‘Take a Breath’ and ‘Echoes’.

What is the most challenging ‘On an Island’ or Gilmour composition for you to play? (Andrew)

‘Where We Start’, because the chords require continually extending your fingers. Although, ironically, trying to play a simple tune like ‘Wish You Were Here’ EXACTLY as David plays it proved to be a challenge! After a few lessons in his kitchen, I’m almost there!

Thought you might like to know that, yesterday, David recorded a television programme for the BBC at his Astoria houseboat-studio.

Presented by Alan Yentob, it will make up their history of the guitar.

It will be broadcast in three parts. David will appear in the final part, which is about contemporary guitar heroes and their approach to the instrument.

Among others being interviewed are two of David’s very own guitar heroes, BB King and Hank Marvin.

That’s all I can tell you for now, but I will keep you posted. It’s far too early for a title or transmission date, of course, but please don’t expect to see it before January.

Although I can’t say which guitars David will be discussing on this programme, he did have his famed 1954 Fender Stratocaster (the one with the 0001 serial number, last used at the Strat Pack concert in 2004), his black Strat (used extensively during the recent ‘On An Island’ tour, and the one that the nice people at Fender are currently producing as the David Gilmour signature model), and his 1955 Goldtop Les Paul with him at the time.

As has been the case for a while now, the above picture is taken from David’s live DVD, ‘Remember That Night’, which is released in September. Click it to see a larger version.

There are many more screenshots to come – glad that you’ve been enjoying the ones shared so far.

Our chatroom is currently open and will be until 4PM (UK time).

Unusually for a Friday, that’s not all for this week. I’ll have more over the weekend, as I’d quite like to burden you with details of the aforementioned DVD, plus one or two other things.

You don’t mind, do you?

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED (04/08/06)

The winner is… Martin D. Well done, Martin! Please let us know where we should send your prize.

The rules are still simple. All you need to do is list five words that you think of when you listen to the title-track (which, incidentally, came out on top in our Favourite track from ‘On an Island’ poll, just ahead of ‘Take a Breath’).

No sentences, just words and no more than five of them. For example, you might list something like harmony, nightfall, memories, sand and sea.

The last time, the prize went to the first person – and only the first person – to suggest the very word that I was thinking of. This time, the prize will go to the one person whose name is selected at random from a list, raffle-style.

If anyone guesses any of my five words, they will be entered into the draw with a number based on the order in which that word was received (all posts, as you know, are time-stamped).

If someone guesses more than one of my five words, then they will be entered into the draw more than once/given more than one number, thereby giving them a greater chance of winning.

The competition will run until midnight tonight (UK time). No further entries will be allowed after this time, so please don’t bother trying. A list of names will by then have been compiled and a random person will select the winning number tomorrow, when I will announce the winner and you can all return to being calm, sane, perhaps even dull individuals in anticipation of news from Venice.

Good luck.

Our new poll asks how you rate DavidGilmour.com (as a complete site, including this blog), so please let us know. You responses in no way influence the outcome of the competition, though, so you can be completely honest. We can take it.

Another of Polly’s fine photographs and another exclusive for you.

Georgie Fame is the singer, pianist and organist who is perhaps best known for Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, one of the most popular (and most jazz-influenced) R&B bands on the London club circuit in the early 1960s. They had three number one singles: ‘Yeh Yeh’ in 1965, ‘Getaway’ in 1966 and ‘The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde’ in 1967, which was also a Top Ten hit in America in 1968.

Mod icon Fame played organ on all of Van Morrison’s albums between 1989 and 1997, even serving as his musical director. A founder member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, he has also worked with the likes of Count Basie, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Joan Armatrading and The Verve.

He also has a successful solo career, with 1991’s ‘Cool Cat Blues’, 1995’s ‘Three Line Whip’, 1996’s ‘The Blues and Me’ and 2000’s ‘Poet in New York’ helping to establish Fame as a remarkable, much sought-after jazz artiste.

So, there’s another surprise contributor to ‘On An Island’ for you. What do you make of that, then?

Really, some of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves for being so unoriginal and unadventurous with your guesses…

Seen here aboard the Astoria, David is playing a Baby Taylor acoustic: an accurately-scaled three-quarter sized acoustic guitar which, I’m told, is the perfect companion for travelling.

Once more, we’ll leave you with another instalment in the ‘Five favourites’ chart.  (Yes, we’re finished with this one now, don’t worry…) Do let us know what you think. Silly suggestions? Anything missing?

080. Crumbling Land
081. Grantchester Meadows *
081. The Gunner’s Dream *
081. Ibiza Bar *
081. The Nile Song *
081. Take It Back *
086. Not Now John *
086. Point Me At The Sky *
086. San Tropez *
086. Stay *
086. When You’re In *
091. Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two) *
091. Bike *
091. Brain Damage *
091. Cirrus Minor *
091. Eclipse *
091. Flaming *
091. Free Four *
098. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives *
098. It’s Deafinitely *
098. Lucifer Sam *
098. Let There Be More Light *
098. Seamus *
098. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun *
098. A Spanish Piece *
098. Speak To Me *
098. Summer ‘68 *
098. What Shall We Do Now? *

* Equal number of votes polled. Alphabetical order, not preference, dictates a song’s order in the chart.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: A FURTHER CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR  A LUCKY FEW

If you have received an e-mail this afternoon from David Gilmour (yeah, right, I thought the same), which congratulates you on being "One of the lucky few to have access to ticket sales for the David Gilmour Tour 2006," and includes a link which offers you the chance to purchase a pair of tickets for the Royal Albert Hall show on 31 May, as well as giving you a personal draw number to allow you to proceed with the sale, then please do not treat it as spam.

It is not fraudulent and you are not at any risk. It is legitimate and completely correct. Trinity Street (the facilitators of the Advance Ticket Booking system) managed to discover a very few extra tickets, so were able to send out an additional message to a choice few.

So, if you are one of the lucky ones to have received this message today, then feel free to purchase your tickets following the simple instructions. Congratulations!

If you did not receive this e-mail, then I am afraid there are no tickets left for you to purchase as the concert is now, officially, a sell out.

A slight change for you today. We will be throwing in the odd ‘Theatre of the Day’ among Polly’s exclusive studio shots, so you can find out a little more about the venues that David has chosen for his tour of Europe and North America.

Many of you have questioned David’s reason for opting for theatres instead of large arenas. As this feature hopes to show, David has chosen to perform at beautiful locations before smaller crowds instead of re-visiting those vast halls where he entertained thousands of people for so many years in his Pink Floyd days.

Today’s featured theatre is South Kensington’s finest, the Royal Albert Hall. David will be visiting this grand setting three times in May. The historic building, which was first opened to the public in 1871, is an arts venue dedicated to Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, whose reigned lasted more than 63 years.

With a maximum permitted capacity of 7,000, it hosts the Proms each summer and the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in November, as well as a multitude of events raging from concerts to conferences, ballet to boxing. Built almost entirely of red brick and terracotta, the hall is oval in shape, measuring some 272 feet by 238 feet around the outside, and has a glass and iron dome roof which is 135 feet high.

If you’ll be seeing David performing here in May, then you’re in for a treat, because – as you can see from this picture – it truly is a beautiful venue.

And yes, the music should be pretty good, too.

We hope you enjoyed ‘Three Men in a Boat’ last night. For those who couldn’t see it, David played a snippet from ‘Smile’, which is one of the tracks from ‘On An Island’, describing it as "quiet and acoustic-y." However, he made a point of saying that not all of the songs on his new album are like that, so make of that what you will. We also got a tour around parts of his houseboat studio, Astoria, and some history on the boat thrown in for good measure.

That’s all for today, but there’ll be one of Polly’s pictures tomorrow.

We hope you’re having a fabulous Christmas Day so far and appreciate you taking time out to visit. Hopefully the fine shot of David with David Crosby and Graham Nash – taken by Polly aboard David’s Astoria houseboat studio – made it worth your while.

The Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young) legends, who also founded The Byrds and Hollies respectively, sing on the title track from ‘On An Island’. You can find out more about them from their websites: www.crosbycpr.com and www.grahamnash.com.

You’re still writing in with your comments, which is great, but please remember that questions are for the FAQs section and will not be posted here. If you’ve sent in a question, don’t worry, we have received it and there’s no need to send it in again.

All future questions to the FAQs page, please.

Questions about the likelihood of David visiting your town or country will not be posted, either. The tour dates have been confirmed and, if there are to be any changes made, then you will be informed. Just keep visiting www.davidgilmour.com where all the latest news will be posted.

Your comments are all very welcome, and everyone who is behind the tour fully appreciates that fans from all over the world would love to welcome David to their homelands. Yet we reserve the right to refuse to post certain messages, and we are receiving a great many requests for David to visit South America and Australia at the moment. These requests will not be posted.

David is still hard at work finalising ‘On An Island’, and Christmas is about families first and foremost. With the greatest respect, please remember that David has a young family and that is the most important thing to him. (Repeatedly asking him to visit your country will not help your cause!)

No one likes to be nagged, and several of the messages received have bordered on the disrespectful. To be frank, David does not have to tour at all. According to his current schedule, he will be visiting seven countries and 13 cities over a period of three months. That’s not bad!

It is, of course, impossible to please everyone, and great consideration has gone into planning the tour to ensure that as many of the people who want to see David do get the opportunity to see him. With all the will in the world, David simply cannot visit the hometown of each and every fan who wishes to see him play. Please be a bit more reasonable. We do understand your disappointment and have taken heed of your requests, but please be fair.

Another of Polly’s exclusive pictures tomorrow.

Until then, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.