On Not Playing Live

I have vivid memories of building this little pedal board in Hong Kong. I was living in a tiny apartment, the smallest space I’ve ever lived in and I had to work on my dining table to make this little board, which I populated with what I then considered to be the most essential pedals for my sound (fuzz, overdrive, way, tremolo, chorus and phaser). OK, I was in an odd place, musically!

I had spent a couple of years working on a solo album and, having run out of steam my plan was to shelve the album and focus on playing live for a while. I had been asked to play a few times and I was keen to get out, explore the scene and hit the stage.

The board never got used.

In fact, I’ve come to wonder if making the board was something of an omen, because after that the only live playing I ever did in Hong Kong was on an iPad.

Yes, an iPad.

I’ve now decided to pull the board apart. I don’t need it for playing in the studio. The way I currently work, it makes more sense to have the effects apart (especially for re-amping purposes).

There’s no sentimental attachement to this board, since I never gigged with it. But, I can’t help thinking about the symbolism of pulling it apart. I’ve been in Singapore 18 months now, haven’t played live and can’t see myself doing so anytime soon.

I don’t like to think live gigging days are over. But, for now, it’s not a priority.