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DAVE LEWIS DIARY: WORLD CUP / TBL SCHEDULE/ JOE BONAMASSA/ TCV

2 July 2010 3,801 views 3 Comments

DL with a fully paid up member of the Black Country Communion –  London June 29th 2010

Let’s get this one out of the way.  England’s exit from the World Cup was indeed a bitter pill to swallow. I know we were poor overall, but I can’t help thinking if the goal that never was had been rightly allowed it might have all been a different story. It’s all history now though and we are left with the aftermath, the recriminations and inquests.  Can’t get too excited about the rest of the tournament, though Argentina might now look a good bet after Brazil’s surprise  exit today. July 3rd update: Actually make that Germany after their 4-0 win today!

So is there life after England?  Well plenty as here we are in July and there’s a lot to do. There’s more Over Europe book collation  ongoing and TBL 27 to get underway. Have to say the TBL operation is about to be stalled somewhat soon as your TBL editor has been selected to serve Queen and country. I’ve been called up for Jury Service at the Crown Court and will be ensconced in  doing so in a couple of week’s time. It’s actually the second time I’ve been selected – way back in 1981 being the last occasion.

This unavoidable diversion is going to affect some scheduling here. With TBL 27 due September, the TBL fan gathering to organise and various other things going on,  the Over Europe book project is unlikely to reach a conclusion until at best the end of the year and more likely in 2011. As I mentioned before, the scope for this has really opened up and to it justice it’s not one to be rushed. Looking at the source material so far, it’s shaping up to be a really fascinating overview of the latter Zep era. The plan is to produce a limited edition deluxe package that will best present the wealth of photos and text in the best possible way.  All TBL subscribers who paid up before January 31st 2010 will qualify for the £5 off  price incentive offer that I ran at the time.  Further details on all this will follow as the project moves on accordingly. Suffice to say as a follow up to the Knebworth book, the objective is to make Led Zeppelin Feather In the Wind Over Europe 1980  an essential addition to your Zep bookshelf.

Looking at the material under consideration for TBL 27, that one is shaping up to be another packed edition including Mike Tremaglio’s summer of ‘70 Zep tour logs, Robert Plant tour watch, Black Country Communion, Nick Kent interview part 2, John Bonham tributes and some other surprises. That will be the priority here in the next few weeks.

On Tuesday, Gary Foy and I zipped into a hot and sweaty London to conduct a couple of TBL interviews. First we met with Joe Bonamassa to talk about the Black Country Communion  album and his general views on Zep etc. The wonder guitarist was excellent company and the fruits of this interview will be previewed soon on the site and will appear in the next issue. Later in the day we did an interview in aid of the Over Europe book which proved very illuminating.

So there’s a fair bit going on, and to accompany the sound of the tapping of keyboard there’s been a fair bit of inspiring music coming out of the player in the last few days -the slight upgraded tape of Bath 70 has been sounding good (thank you EE). Always a favourite here from the days of good old cassettes. Still love that crazy version of Immigrant Song. Quite a bit of Beatles graced the recent hot weather (thank you GD)- Abbey Road sounding particularly effective – caught the Lennon Naked film on TV with Christopher Eccleston playing the lead role with much credibility. It focused mainly on the late 60s period with Yoko etc and a re-occurring theme of his father entering his life again. The script was strong and the settings authentic in the main. There’s sure to be more Lennon media mania with the 30th anniversary of his death beckoning. Also been playing early Traffic (thanks GF), Lovin’ Spoonful Greatest Hits (another summer winner), a couple of Blue Note trip compilations, Stones Exile, and Zep Complete BBC (thanks EE). Really enjoyed watching the You Tube clip of Robert on stage with Los Lobos.  He looks on great form and I think the burst of activity we are due soon from the Band Of Joy is going to be something special.

Have to say hear the running has gone a bit pear shaped as I  somehow managed to badly strain my left calf muscle and had to pull up on the last attempted run –hopefully some rest will cure it. Did manage some other welcomed exercise.  I cannot remember the last time I went swimming, must be five years ago at least , but this week Sam and I biked down to our local pool and did 20 lengths which must have done some good. It certainly felt like it.  Last night the good lady and I and Adam attended his annual School Sports Presenation Evening –  Adam was  recognised in his year’s Football catagory for the second year running.  The guest speaker was the flamboyant former British Olympic athlete  Kriss Akabusi who gave a quite captivating motivational speech.  Mr Capello should have employed him in the dressing room last week….

It was great to see Andy Murray progress to the  semi final at Wimbledon but Nadal was just too strong. That’s that for another year but he can hold his head high and you just have to hope he can eventually make a Grand Slam winner.

Next Monday the final date with Them Crooked Vultures beckons and I look forward to hooking up with all that can make it to this  rendezvous with that man (as Robert once said) from Casablanca.  It may be JPJ’s last time on a UK stage for a while,  so I am looking forward to soaking up a final blast of live TCV.

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3 Comments »

  • Tom Cory said:

    Hope to see you at the meet up on Monday eve Dave. I haven’t seen you for quite a while!

  • Michael Brazee said:

    Dave, Let’s just hope your Jury duty doesn’t cover Jake Holmes suing Jimmy Page over Dazed & Confused;-)

  • Simon Cadman said:

    Where’s the TVC meet Dave?

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