Iain Cameron's Diary
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2002-07-16 - 5:23 a.m.

Dearodearodearodear. I must be more respectful of my liver - but how often do you have a chance to get out of it with someone who has sat the other side of a mixing desk from one of the fab four? Anyway the week started badly - I had to stand all the way to Waterloo and then when I got into my office there was my annual appraisal for me to sign - or in this case refuse to put biro to. I'll save that bad tempered tale for another day.

www.kwase.kwaza.org now has mp3s. On Plundafonix this includes demon punkska band Fellthru who played The Junction last night, Robin's song, Paul's signature song Plainsailing and Gilbert's instrumental. Maybe listen to Gilbert's guitar trio - he plays the spanish guitar and I play two wind lines against it. I say this because one of the better things yesterday morning was Gilbert mailing to say he has a second flute and guitar piece on the stocks and did I want to play it?

I downloaded a copy of Fifthsextra onto my work PC and mailed it to my colleague Phil Davies who has a PRS - I have yet to find out exactly what he does with it but I imagine when he hears Mark's production he will be compelled to reply in kind.

I mailed the New York Review of Books to ask for permission to use an article they published in May on the Hidden Causes of AIDS by Helen Epstein - its a really interesting piece of research and raises important issues like the way that the funds which black miners pay into when they are employed in SA don't seem to pay out when these people and their families get ill back in the villages. Only a point of view of course, but I think that if some of the publicity that goes on AZT went on this issue there might be much more immediate benefit for people impacted by the AIDS crisis. The core point is that sick men women and children dont have any money.

Chris Wallace phoned from a restaurant in Charlotte Street in the middle of the afternoon and I couldn't think of a good reason not to join him. Chris and I went to the same school in West London and he introduced me to the Judy Collins album which contains the early songs by J Mitchell, L Cohen , R Newman etc. We met again through the Friendsreunited site. He runs a theatrical production company - on the basis of yersterday - from a table near the pavement of Zissy's at the rate of a bottle of white every 35 minutes or so. He and his business partner Jill and their engineer Peter had covered the table with CDs of a radio serial and BBC documentation which was about to be delivered.

I talked to Jill about Alec Reid who produced the second Nick Drake session and is now in a similar business. Alec converts episodes of Inspector Morse audio cassette format. Jill knew of Alecs work with Radios 3 and 4. Alec and Peter are approximately the same vintage in the BBC. People from this era have an incredible history as a rule - Alec weas the first person to record Genesis and Peter did a very early session for Led Zeppelin. Peter and I had a chat about the evolution of the PA - from the era when when a pile of WEM boxes was the standard. I said I thought the Doors were the first band I heard using acoustic horns. Peter said Ledzep were early adopters too.

Chris thinks that I need some experienced acoustic ears in my production process - he may well be right.

Anyway it was great evening - I managed to drag myself away around 9.00pm and got a cab to Waterloo. Yvonne was out collecting James from the airport - back from Malaga with a liver which may be in the same condition as mine. It seems there has been a luggage episode at the airport but unfortunately around 2am this morning I was not able to make much of a contribution towards its resolution. Doubtless today will be an opportunity to make more of an input.

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