FIRST NEW SHORT FOR YONKS!

[jtrodreigez]

alright Gav nice to hear from you and look forward to the new material brother.

[missdonk]

Really sorry to hear about that Gav, but glad to hear about what is going on with you and Shane. I look forward to it. x

[Dazza]

Gav you have a really great, unique voice and your songs that have been used in Shane's films always capture the emotion of that part of the film where they are used and they always fit perfectly into his films. Its a massive shame about the label deal fella but fingers crossed what you and shane are doing at the moment will be well recieved it bloody should be. I look forward to your new material.

[fattaxi]

Good luck Gav, look forward to it mate.

[flashpointharry]

REALLY looking forward to this. Can I get dibs on the first review? ;D

[Dave]

Gavin now has a new MySpace page which features 4 of his latest recordings which are a from the forthcoming album which the documentary will be about.

www.myspace.com/gavinclarke

Gavin mentions on his MySpace that the plan is to release the solo album and documentary as a two disc set! Nice!

Will put this on the front page of the site tomorrow (I'm stuck at work at the moment so I can't).... but I know all you eager beavers of the forum will appreciate getting the news as soon as possible!

[sunhouserising]

Well from what I have heard these songs are amongst the best he has ever done.

I must say I thought I was your biggest fan, but have to agree with Shane when he says that you on your own is what its all about. I loved Sunhouse and Clayhill and always felt that you just wasn't getting the airplay you rightly deserve.

It makes me puke when I hear the Jack Johnson's and Ray Lamontagne's etc etc we only buy those cos we dont have enough Gavin Clark on the scene. All this shit music that appears on the Album Chart show every week can't touch one verse of a Clayhill/Sunhouse song.

Eatsleep need to Eatshite if thats what they do to the singer of the Century.

If I had a million bucks I'd sign you up, I'll go get a scratchy now You never know.

All the very best for this project.

Tyler

[untruth]

Hi All

This is my first post on this forum. Actually I never even knew that this forum and website even existed until Friday, because, idiot that I am, it never occurred to me that Shane might have a website.

Anyway, the main point of this post is to tell you that I had the great privilege of being at Gavin's house yesterday for the recording of his first ever solo gig, and what a rich experience it was too.

Gavin said beforehand that he had never been so nervous before a gig, and this showed with several false starts to songs.

It all took place in Gavin's dining room, which is not a big room.

The fifteen or so guests, friends and family members squeezed in along with Shane and another cameraman, whose name I missed. Actually space was so tight, I was the unlucky one who didn't quite get inside the room, and had to crane my head around the door from the hallway.

Gavin's two sons started things off with a song, and they then accompanied Gavin on his first one. I wish I'd made notes on what happened, but you'll have to bear with me because I can't remember the set order, or even what did happen exactly. Suffice to say that it was a mixture of songs old and new, that is, all of the new songs that have been on the MySpace site, plus a couple of other ones, and towards the end of the set a few from the Sunhouse days including "Hard Sun", during which I could hear a female backing vocal in my head. At one point, requests were noted, and it was pointed out that it would be difficult to obtain clearance on the Smiths' song or on any Clayhill ones, which was a great shame. I'll not tell you exactly which ones were played, so as to preserve a little of the mystery of it all.

Between songs, Gavin told us some stories about his life, and about some of the songs. At this point, I felt like an interloper, because I knew that everyone else had known Gavin for much longer, and understood more about what he had gone through in the past. All I can say is that several times I got cold shivers, and the feeling that is usually described as the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.

I haven't described the intense emotion that went into the performance, because I'm not remotely accomplished enough as a writer to even try. What I will say though, is that the level of support for Gavin when he was struggling so hard to get through over his nerves and make his hands actually play the guitar the way he wanted to was just overwhelming. I tell you, the hippie in me says that there was a lot of love in that room, man. After a lot of vocal encouragement from Shane and everyone else, we heard about forty minutes (I think - I never looked at my watch, so can't swear to that) of wonderful music, and Gavin reached the point where he felt he'd done all he could do, so Shane wrapped it up.

Afterward we all milled about talking about it for a while, but the vibe was not the high energy buzz you often get after a gig. Rather, it was to me at least, the sense that we had seen the start of something special. On a more mundane note, a raffle was drawn where the lucky winner won the remarkable prize of a Living Room Concert in their own home. It was won by a couple who were instrumental in helping to get the whole project off the ground, so it went to a good home, as it were. More of these shows will follow on a monthly basis, apparently.

Before we all left, Shane and Gavin handed out a Very Limited Edition CD of the songs that have been recorded at these sessions. (Sadly, mine doesn't work in any of my players or my computer, so at this point I can't report back to you.)

It was a wonderful experience, and I can't thank Gavin, his family and Shane enough for allowing me to be part of it. Jeez, I can't wait to see the film.

Cheers

Neil

[RydCook]

Wow, cheers for sharing your experiance with us mate.

[Dave]

Thanks for that untruth. It's really great to read someone's own personal experience of the event.