I have got a pair of headphones which means I can hear Cubase properly as I develop a piece - this is likely to make a big difference. I also have a haircut. I am getting 2 more tunes together for the next open mike plus a rearrangement of OGDS. I can see the importance of practising and practising. Paul W is currently at 45 in the global hot singer-songwriter chart.

Last night I took the Dhorn to the jazz cellar in Camden. The first band to play were Monastic Trio - a percussion player, s keyboard player and a trumpeter. The keybd was a Roland VK8 which is an upscale Hammonnd emulator. This was plugged into a metal box that I didnt recognise but it emerged that it was what became of the Leslie Cabinet when it was taken over by the Japanese. The bass line came from the left hand and I guess the keybd was split between bass and Hammond somewhere. I really enjoyed the set which was quite open and experimental.

Platonic Curry seemed to have a different set of musician in addition to Ben and Penny - I talked to the bass player and the guitarist at the last gig and I could tell these were different people. The instrumental sound was nicely separated but the vocals weren t very well mixed.

Then there was the house band which was a guitar trio. The lead had a Les Paul and a 1970s Roland 70 watt Jazz Chorus. This combination made a surprisingly edgy sound. Then it was jam time. I had met Ann-Marie by this time who plays tenor and trombone, studied at Leeds and is a music teacher by day. She had her tenor a Selmer with her. We shared a mike in the jam. I thought I should have practiced the Dhorn more but in fact the jam rather reminded me of early Wild Oats - around December 1969 - I seemed to have enough technique for that.